II  jl)j    jj 

ISiiliii    nil' 
iiiiUiii    il' 
ISiliil'    III' 

.J.  M 

mm 

PI 

m~A 


till 


iil  i    .j|!ii| 


i\  M   i 


m 


§ 


B 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/duplicatedeathOOfoxdiala 


The  Duplicate  Death 


(By  the  Same  Jluthor 


THE  DANGERVILLE  INHERITANCE 

THE  MAULEVERER  MURDERS 

THE  AVERAGE  MAN 

THE     FINANCES     OF    SIR    JOHN 
KYNNERSLEY 

THE    TROUBLES     OF     COLONEL 
M ARWOOD 

THE  SEX  TRIUMPHANT 


THE 
DUPLICATE  DEATH 


BY 

A.  C.  FOX-DAVIES 

Author  of  "The  Dangerville  Inheritance," 
"The  Mauleverer  Murders,"  etc. 


Illustrated  by 
Hermann  Heytr 


NEW  YORK 

THE  MACAULAY  COMPANY 

1910 


Copyright,  1910,  By 
THE  MACAULAY  COMPANY 


THE    PREMIER   PRESS 
NEW   YORK 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


One  or  other  of  you  three,  if  not  all  of  you, 
will  be  accused  of  the  murder '  "     .     Frontispiece 


FACING   PAGE 

"  The  maid  found  the  dead  body  of  her  mistress  "       22 

"  Sir  John  was  found  still  seated  at  his  writing- 
table,  but  dead  " 46 

"  Line  for  line,  feature  for  feature,  the  face  was 
that    of    Dolores    Alvarez " 90 

"  '  Look  there ! '  he  almost  shouted,  as  he  pointed 
to    the    miniature" 188 

I  object  to  anyone  tampering  with  the  wit- 
ness '" 300 


u  < 


2135460 


The  Duplicate  Death 


The   Duplicate   Death 

CHAPTER  I 

Old  Lord  Madeley  had  taken  unto  him- 
self a  wife — one  of  the  beautiful  Sisters  Al- 
varez of  the  Pavilion  Theatre  of  Varieties 
and  the  other  West-end  halls.  Whereat 
the  world  of  Society  wondered  for  ten  days. 
His  relatives  never  ceased  to  wonder. 

He  was  always  called  "  Old  Lord  Mad- 
eley," but  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  had  but 
turned  the  half-century  some  four  or  five 
years  previously.  The  man  and  his  history 
were  curious.  The  twenty-fifth  holder  of 
the  ancient  Barony  of  Madeley,  he  was  a 
legitimate  scion  of  the  Plantagenets  and  an 
illegitimate  one  of  the  Stuarts;  and  he  had 
been  born  the  youngest  child  of  his  parents' 
marriage. 

In  these  later  times  the  ancient  and  his- 
toric houses  of  Norman  England  have 
[9], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

fallen  upon  impoverished  days,  and  a 
younger  son  succeeds  to  but  a  pittance. 
The  land  is  there  for  the  eldest,  but  each 
generation  leaves  it  more  burdened  than 
did  its  predecessor,  and  there  is  little  if 
any  margin  realisable  in  hard  cash. 

Such  a  pittance  had  been  the  fortune  to 
which  Charles  de  Bohun  Fitz  Aylwyn  had 
succeeded  at  the  death  of  his  father. 
Hoarding  his  few  poor  hundreds  per  an- 
num, he  had  turned  his  back  upon  the 
society  into  which  he  had  been  born,  settled 
himself  in  dingy  lodgings  in  Bloomsbury, 
and  lapsed  into  an  eccentric  recluse,  with 
not  a  single  thought  beyond  the  study  of  the 
science  in  which  his  soul  delighted. 

His  eldest  brother  died  childless  after 
a  brief  but  brilliant  reign,  bequeathing 
the  whole  of  his  personalty  to  his  widow  in 
an  attempt  to  increase  the  meagre  jointure 
which  was  her  portion.  In  the  realisation 
of  that  personalty  every  stick  of  furniture 
[10] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  each  single  spoon  in  the  old  Manor 
House,  save  the  portraits  on  the  walls,  were 
passed  under  the  hammer  of  the  auctioneer. 
The  second  brother  was  an  absentee  land- 
lord, never  going  near  his  property,  and 
draining  it  to  the  last  penny.  Strangers 
hired  his  house  from  him  until  he  died. 

At  his  death  the  title  and  estates  passed 
to  Charles  de  Bohun,  then  and  thereafter 
twenty-fifth  Baron  Madeley  in  the  peerage 
of  England. 

With  a  mild  curiosity  his  relatives  and 
the  world  at  large  wondered  what  on  earth 
he  would  do  with  the  inheritance.  For 
months  he  never  went  near  the  place. 

Then,  without  a  word  or  hint  of  warn- 
ing, he  left  London,  and  travelled  down 
into  Shropshire  by  the  evening  train.  He 
had  never  heard  of  slip  coaches,  he  had  for- 
gotten where  an  obsequious  porter  had  told 
him  he  would  have  to  change,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  at  night  he  had  been  turned  out  of 
[11] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  train  at  Shrewsbury,  twenty  miles  be- 
yond his  destination. 

By  the  time  the  lumbering  cab  he  en- 
gaged at  the  railway  station  deposited  him 
at  the  Manor  House,  it  was  long  past  mid- 
night. After  continuous  knocking  a  sleepy 
caretaker  descended,  only  to  open  the  door, 
tell  the  visitor  to  be  gone,  and  slam  it  in  his 
face.  It  had  needed  the  thunderous  assist- 
ance of  the  cabman  applied  both  to  bell  and 
knocker  and  with  boots  upon  the  door  pan- 
els to  recall  the  caretaker.  Lord  Madeley 
had  discharged  him  and  his  wife  there  and 
then,  and  neither  knew,  cared,  nor  ever  in- 
quired whether  the  couple  left  the  house  in 
the  darkness  or  waited  until  the  following 
day.  Such  had  been  the  home-coming  of 
Lord  Madeley. 

Instructing  his  lawyers  to  refurnish  the 
house,  engage  servants,  and  appoint  a 
properly  qualified  agent  to  manage  the  es- 
tate, Lord  Madeley  reorganised  and  re- 
[12] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

quired  in  his  household  a  reversion  and 
rigid  adherence  to  the  studied  solemnity 
of  state  which  he  remembered  from  the 
dignified  days  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. That  he  regarded  as  a  duty  at- 
taching to  his  rank,  his  caste,  and  his  fam- 
ily. 

Personally  he  remained  wedded  to  his 
pursuit  of  science,  and  continued  his  ex- 
periments and  investigations.  A  recluse 
he  had  been  in  London — a  recluse  he  re- 
mained at  Madeley,  and  for  the  first  five 
years  of  his  enjoyment  of  the  family  heri- 
tage he  never  once  set  foot  outside  the 
doors  of  the  Manor  House.  Absorbed  in 
science,  his  mind  deep  and  recondite  in 
those  directions,  simple,  straightforward, 
and  lovable  in  all  the  matters  of  a  more 
worldly  nature,  the  old  peer  had  probably 
never  given  a  thought  to  either  any  woman 
in  particular  or  to  the  female  sex  as  a  gen- 
eral proposition.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
[131 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

it  had  never  crossed  Lord  Madeley's  mind 
that  there  really  were  two  sexes,  save  as  a 
scientific  proposition,  of  which  scientific 
proposition  he,  as  a  man  of  science,  was 
naturally  cognisant.  As  a  social  problem 
he  had  never  thought  of  it,  knew  nothing 
of  it,  and  cared  less. 

But  peers  have  obligations  thrust  upon 
them,  from  which  lesser  mortals  are  ex- 
empt. The  exact  circumstances  which 
had  produced  it  are  immaterial  to  the 
story,  but  a  royal  command  had  left  Lord 
Madeley  no  alternative,  and  he  had  in 
obedience  thereto  betaken  himself  to  town. 
That  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  recrossed 
the  threshold  of  the  Manor  House  since  he 
had  entered  it  was  a  thought  which  prob- 
ably never  presented  itself  to  his  mind;  and 
that  he  was  returning  to  the  scenes  in 
which  the  greater  part  of  his  life  had  been 
spent  quickened  his  pulse  not  at  all.  He 
was  irked  by  the  command,  bored  by  the 
[14] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

anticipated  absence  of  his  scientific  inter- 
ests, and,  in  the  hope  of  avoiding  ennui,  he 
cast  about  in  his  mind  for  a  companion  to 
share  with  him  the  suite  of  apartments  he 
had  engaged  in  the  hotel  at  which  his 
father  and  grandfather  before  him  had 
been  accustomed  to  sojourn  whilst  in  town. 
Probably  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  his 
utter  loneliness  in  the  world  made  itself 
manifest.  He  had  one  relative,  and  one 
only,  a  young  unmarried  cousin,  the  son 
of  a  distant  cousin,  and  from  the  point  of 
pedigree  the  future  head  of  the  house  of 
Fitz  Aylwyn. 

Lord  Madeley  wrote  and  invited  him. 
The  invitation  was  accepted. 

Young  Billy  Fitz  Aylwyn  was  one  of 
those  men — there  are  such  men — whom  to 
see  was  to  like.  Lord  Madeley  liked  him 
wholeheartedly,  and,  in  the  courteous  at- 
tempt to  give  pleasure  to  the  younger  man, 
the  old  peer  had  consented  to  a  tentative 
[15] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

suggestion  of  his  relative  that  they  should 
spend  the  evening  by  going  to  the  Pavilion 
Theatre.  It  was  the  first  time  Lord  Made- 
ley  had  ever  been  inside  a  theatre.  The 
meretriciousness  of  things  theatrical  was 
not  laid  bare  to  the  old  peer  by  reason  of 
experience  and  knowledge,  and  he  was 
fascinated  by  the  beauty  of  the  Alvarez 
girls. 

A  passing  comment  on  their  beauty — 
for  they  were  beautiful,  judged  by  any 
standard — had  provoked  in  the  younger 
of  the  men  a  confession  of  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  the  sisters. 

Absolutely  in  ignorance  of  the  manner 
of  man  Lord  Madeley  was,  and  thinking 
the  pure  artistic  admiration  of  classic 
beauty  was  an  interest  of  a  totally  different 
kind,  Fitz  Aylwyn  had  suggested  asking 
the  sisters  to  supper. 

Lord  Madeley,  unsophisticated  in  the 
ways  of  the  world,  and  merely  desiring  to 
[16] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

give  pleasure  to  his  relative  and  guest, 
whom  he  supposed  was  putting  himself  out 
to  relieve  the  ennui  of  an  old  man,  made  no 
objection,  and  the  supper  party  had  taken 
place. 

The  Sisters  Alvarez — Eulalie  was  the 
elder  and  Dolores  the  younger — of  pure 
Spanish  descent,  but  of  entirely  English 
birth  and  domicile,  were  stars  of  the  music- 
hall  world,  but  stars  of  no  great  or  exceed- 
ing magnitude.  Calling  themselves  come- 
diennes, their  turn  was  the  usual  song  and 
dance  of  no  particular  or  more  than  aver- 
age merit.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  use- 
less to  attempt  to  deny  the  fact  that  the  sis- 
ters were  unquestionably  the  most  beautiful 
women  upon  the  stage  at  that  time.  De- 
scended in  a  left-handed  way  from  some 
of  the  bluest  blood  of  Andalusia,  their 
beauty  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
thick-lipped,  teeth-displaying,  plebeian 
prettiness,  which,  by  reason  of  picture  post- 

[17] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

card  advertisement,  one  is  now  asked  to  be- 
lieve represents  a  type  of  the  beauty  of  this 
country. 

Alike  in  feature,  the  two  sisters  were  as 
wide  apart  as  the  poles  in  character  and 
temperament.  Eulalie,  strong,  compel- 
ling, masterful,  and  passionate,  controlled 
the  lives  of  both;  Dolores,  gentle,  trusting, 
and  submissive,  intensely  admired  her  sis- 
ter, worshipped  her  ability,  and  did  what- 
soever she  was  told. 

The  girls  themselves — the  outspoken 
frankness  of  their  world — the  utter  novelty 
of  the  whole  thing — the  novelty  of  young 
female  society — the  awe-struck  deference 
of  the  music-hall  singer  for  a  real  peer  of 
England,  who  accorded  to  them  the  cour- 
tesy and  deference  to  women  which  he 
vaguely  recollected  from  the  world  of  his 
distant  youth — interested  Lord  Madeley. 

With  charming  but  unsophisticated  hos- 
pitality he  invited  the  sisters  to  visit  the 
[18] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Manor  House,  thinking  it  an  obligation  of 
hospitality  owing  by  him  to  Fitz  Aylwyn. 
The  invitation  was  accepted. 

Eulalie,  with  a  keen  eye  to  opportunity, 
made  up  her  mind  that  the  position  of 
Lady  Madeley,  mistress  of  the  rent  roll  of 
the  great  Manor  of  Madeley  and  of  Made- 
ley  Manor  House,  was  within  the  possibili- 
ties. She  played  for  that  position  for  all 
she  was  worth,  with  every  atom  of  knowl- 
edge she  possessed  or  could  acquire,  played 
her  game  without  the  opposition  of  tangi- 
ble rivals,  played  her  game  as  a  clever  and 
beautiful  woman  of  the  world,  knowing 
every  wile  and  every  blandishment  that 
was  permissible,  played  her  game  against 
an  old  man  to  whom  had  been  given  no 
weapon  of  defence  and  from  whom  had 
been  withheld  the  worldly  knowledge  out 
of  which  such  weapons  could  have  been 
fashioned  and  which  would  have  indicated 
their  necessity.  The  result  was  never  in 
[19] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

doubt.  Lord  Madeley  married,  or  was 
married,  as  Eulalie  had  intended  should 
happen. 

Let  it  here  be  said,  for  Lord  Madeley 
soon  passes  out  of  the  story,  that  never  for 
one  single  instant  did  he  ever  regret  his 
marriage.  Save  that  his  house  was  better 
ordered,  his  wishes  more  carefully  re- 
spected, his  comfort  more  scrupulously 
provided  for,  Lady  Madeley  was  wise 
enough  to  recognise  that  the  ingrained 
ways  and  habits  of  a  lonely  man  of  fifty-five 
are  fixed,  and  are  altered  only  at  the  cost  of 
much  discomfort.  She  contented  herself 
with  the  rank  and  position,  the  wealth,  and 
the  house  which  the  marriage  had  brought 
her,  and  left  Lord  Madeley  to  pursue  his 
life  as  he  inclined  and  much  as  he  had  done 
theretofore.  Two  years  after  their  mar- 
riage their  only  child — a  daughter,  Consu- 
elo — was  born,  and  a  few  years  later  Lord 
Madeley  died.  Inertia,  even  if  product- 
[20} 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

ive  of  a  contented  mind,  is  not  especially 
conducive  to  length  of  years. 

His  widow  raised  a  costly  marble  monu- 
ment over  his  grave,  mourned  for  a  de- 
cently prolonged  interval,  and  re-emerged 
in  the  world;  whilst  Consuelo,  in  her  own 
right  Baroness  Madeley,  figured  in  her 
father's  place  in  the  peerage  books. 

But  there  had  been  an  incident  shortly 
after  the  marriage  which  for  some  time 
had  thrown  a  blight  upon  the  new-found 
happiness  of  Lord  and  Lady  Madeley. 

Passing  through  London  on  their  return 
from  a  honeymoon  spent  upon  the  Conti- 
nent, Lady  Madeley  had  visited  on  two  oc- 
casions her  unmarried  sister  at  the  small 
flat  in  Kensington  which  had  been  taken 
for  her  and  furnished  by  Lord  Madeley. 

The  second  visit  was  the  last  time  the  sis- 
ters met.  Two  hours  afterwards  the  maid 
found  the  dead  body  of  her  mistress 
stretched  upon  the  bed  in  her  room,  stark 
1*1] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

nude,  and  on  the  table  by  the  bedside  an 
opened  half-bottle  of  champagne  and  a 
glass  from  which  some  of  the  wine  had 
been  drunk. 

At  the  inquest  which  was  held,  however, 
everything  was  made  plain  by  the  evidence 
of  the  maid,  who  described  the  arrival  of 
Lady  Madeley  at  the  flat.  She  had  pre- 
pared and  taken  in  tea,  and  had  then  been 
sent  to  Bond  Street  to  change  the  library 
books  and  to  purchase  stalls  at  one  of  the 
theatres,  Lady  Madeley  having  come  to  in- 
vite her  sister  to  spend  the  evening  with  her 
husband  and  herself  in  that  manner,  and 
having  postponed  the  purchase  of  the  stalls 
until  she  had  ascertained  to  which  theatre 
her  sister  would  prefer  to  go. 

On  her  return  from  Bond  Street,  the 
maid  had  found  her  mistress  alone — Lady 
Madeley  having  already  left — and  she  de- 
scribed how  her  mistress  had  at  once  sent 
her  out  again  to  order  a  carriage  from  the 

[22] 


The  maid  found  the  dead  body  of  her  mistress 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

livery  stables,  and  to  purchase  flowers  and 
gloves  for  that  evening.  When  she  re- 
turned a  second  time  she  had  found  the 
drawing-room  empty,  and  the  dead  body 
of  her  mistress  lying  naked  upon  the  bed. 

In  cross-examination  the  maid  had  de- 
nied having  heard  the  least  quarrelling  be- 
tween the  sisters,  and  could  not  suggest  any 
reason  for  her  mistress  having  taken  her 
own  life. 

Lady  Madeley,  obviously  deeply  affected 
by  the  tragic  death  of  her  sister,  had  cor- 
roborated the  evidence  given  by  the  maid; 
and  distinguished  surgeons  and  analysts 
had  deposed  the  death  to  have  been  due  to 
prussic  acid,  and  that  the  same  poison  could 
be  traced  in  the  wine  remaining  in  the 
glass. 

The  coroner  summed  up,  emphasising  the 
evidence  which  had  been  given,  and  which, 
he  remarked,  pointed  conclusively  to  sui- 
cide. Alluding  to  the  fact  that  the  body 
[23], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

was  unclothed,  the  coroner  added  that  he 
thought  the  jury  would  find  therein  ample 
justification  for  coming  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  mind  of  the  deceased  had  become 
unhinged.  With  such  plain  evidence  of 
fact  before  them  he  assumed  the  jury 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  arriving  at  a 
verdict.  If  the  evidence  of  the  maid  had 
stood  alone,  they  might  well  have  had  rea- 
son for  some  hesitation  and  might  have 
wished  to  probe  further  into  the  matter  for 
a  motive  to  account  sufficiently  for  self-de- 
struction. But  the  maid  had  been  for  some 
years  in  the  employment  of  a  family,  mem- 
bers of  which  had  testified  to  the  exemplary 
character  she  bore,  and  her  evidence  was  in 
every  way  corroborated  not  only  by  Lady 
Madeley,  but  also  by  witnesses  from  the  li- 
brary in  Bond  Street,  the  livery  stables,  and 
the  other  places  to  which  she  had  been  sent 
by  her  mistress.  There  could  be,  there- 
fore, not  the  smallest  suspicion  attaching  to 
[24] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  maid.  As  far  as  they  were  aware,  the 
only  other  visitor  Miss  Alvarez  had  had 
that  afternoon  had  been  her  sister,  Lady 
Madeley.  Now,  the  evidence  of  the  maid 
had  clearly  established  the  fact  that  when 
she  returned  on  the  first  occasion  Lady 
Madeley  had  already  gone,  and  the  maid 
then  saw  her  mistress  alive  and  spoke  to 
her.  The  only  other  alternative  which  re- 
mained was  that  during  the  second  absence 
of  the  maid  some  unknown  person  had  en- 
tered the  flat  and  had  administered  the  poi- 
son. That  alternative  could  not  be  dis- 
missed as  an  impossibility.  Miss  Alvarez 
was  certainly  alone  in  the  flat  at  the  time 
when  this  might  have  occurred,  but  there 
was  much  evidence  which  all  tended  to 
negative  the  likelihood  of  such  an  explana- 
tion being  the  correct  one.  For  murder  by 
an  unknown  person  to  be  the  explanation, 
motive,  and  a  strong  motive,  became  essen- 
tial. Robbery  was  disproved  by  the  fact 
[25] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

that  nothing  whatever  had  been  removed 
from  the  flat,  not  even  the  purse  which  was 
found  lying  on  the  table  by  the  bedside; 
nor  the  money,  some  six  or  seven  pounds, 
which  still  remained  in  the  purse.  That 
disposed  of  any  hypothetical  stranger  call- 
ing, demanding  money,  being  refused,  and 
committing  a  murder.  Besides  this,  there 
were  no  signs  of  any  struggle.  "  Lady 
Madeley,"  the  coroner  continued,  "  has 
told  us  of  the  intimate  terms  of  affection 
upon  which  she  and  her  sister  had  always 
lived;  and  Lady  Madeley,  out  of  her  re- 
sulting knowledge,  has  assured  us  that 
there  was  nothing  in  her  sister's  life,  and  no 
one  amongst  her  sister's  acquaintances,  that 
could  provide  or  account  for  any  sufficient 
motive  for  such  a  crime.  Of  course,  it  is 
common  knowledge  that  Lady  Madeley 
and  Miss  Alvarez  were,  until  very  recently, 
members  of  the  theatrical  profession;  but 
the  many  letters  to  Miss  Alvarez,  which 
[26] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

remained  undestroyed  in  the  flat,  and 
which  have  all  been  carefully  examined, 
the  tone  of  those  letters,  and  the  evidence 
we  have  had  from  so  many  artistes  of  the 
high  moral  character  both  the  sisters  were 
known  in  the  profession  to  have,  altogether 
negative,  and  it  gives  me  sincere  pleasure 
even  on  this  sad  and  melancholy  occasion 
to  say  it,  they  emphatically  negative  any 
supposition  that  there  was  an  illicit  side  to 
the  life  of  Miss  Alvarez  to  which  we  can 
turn  in  the  hope  of  an  explanation.  There 
was  no  such  side.  Therefore,  I  think  any 
idea  of  murder  may  be  dismissed.  Motive, 
of  course,  must  always  equally  precede 
self-destruction,  but  there  motive  need  not 
be  that  outside  motive  which  must  be 
looked  for,  and  for  which  logical  explana- 
tion must  be  found,  where  another  person 
is  concerned  to  compass  the  death  of  a  vic- 
tim. As  I  have  already  indicated,  we  have 
some  actual  evidence  of  a  disordered  mind, 
[27], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  such  a  mind  would  imagine  and  accept 
as  real  quite  non-existent  facts  and  weave 
those  into  a  self-compelling  motive.  Every 
fact  that  has  been  given  in  evidence  is  per- 
fectly compatible  with  suicide.  There  is 
no  fact  within  our  knowledge  which  con- 
flicts with  that  supposition,  there  is  no  sin- 
gle detail  that  raises  any  suspicion  to  the 
contrary." 

Without  hesitation  the  jury  returned  a 
verdict  of  "  Suicide  during  temporary  in- 
sanity," a  verdict  with  which  the  coroner 
remarked  that  he  entirely  concurred. 

Ashley  Tempest,  then  a  romantic  but  ris- 
ing young  barrister,  had  been  present  at  the 
inquest,  holding  a  watching  brief  which 
had  been  sent  him  by  the  solicitors  of  Lord 
Madeley.  He  had  been  fascinated  by  the 
beauty  of  the  dead  woman  whom  several 
times  he  happened  to  have  seen  and  greatly 
admired  upon  the  stage.  The  little  smile 
which  still  seemed  to  play  upon  the  lips, 
[28] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  long  dark  eyelashes  resting  upon  her 
cheeks,  the  profusion  of  long  black  hair, 
the  delicately  chiselled  features  bit  them- 
selves in  upon  his  brain,  and  for  days  after- 
wards the  face  with  its  haunting  beauty 
formed  and  reformed  itself  before  his  eyes, 
no  matter  upon  what  he  might  be  engaged. 
The  face  threatened  to  become  an  obses- 
sion. The  dead  mask  was  eliminating  his 
remembrance  of  the  living  woman,  whereas 
he  would  have  had  it  otherwise;  and  partly 
for  that  reason,  but  chiefly  because  it  was 
the  first  cause  celebre  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged,  he  purchased  all  the  photographs 
he  could  obtain  of  the  dead  actress,  and, 
sending  them  to  a  miniaturist,  ordered  a 
miniature  to  be  painted  from  them,  and 
hung  it  in  his  chambers. 

As  time  passed  slowly  on,  Tempest's  fas- 
cination  decreased;   but   through   all   his 
busy  life,  amongst  his  multitudinous  cases, 
weird  and  mysterious  as  so  many  of  them 
[29], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

were,  he  never  forgot  the  strange  story  he 
had  heard  unfolded  at  the  inquest  upon  the 
body  of  Dolores  Alvarez.  Many  a  night 
when,  pushing  books  and  papers  on  one 
side,  he  had  lighted  his  final  cigarette  be- 
fore turning  into  bed,  the  miniature  would 
catch  his  eye,  and,  gazing  again  at  the 
beautiful  face,  his  thoughts  would  revert 
to  the  familiar  story,  and  once  again  he 
would  puzzle  over  the  facts  he  knew,  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  find  a  solution  of  the  mys- 
tery. Why  had  she  poisoned  herself?  As 
the  succeeding  years  brought  him  fuller 
knowledge  of  men  and  of  women,  and  of 
their  motives,  as  case  after  case  widened  his 
experience,  so  time  after  time  would  he 
again  place  together  the  pieces  of  his  puz- 
zle, arranging  and  rearranging  them  as 
crime  after  crime  passing  through  his 
hands  revealed  to  him  new  motives,  new 
characters,  any  one  of  which  might  prove 
to  be  analogous  and  afford  him  the  clue  he 
[30] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

wanted.  Suicide  it  seemed  plain  enough 
to  him  it  must  have  been.  He  always  re- 
membered how  closely  he  had  followed  at 
the  time  the  reasoning  of  the  coroner.  He 
always  felt  convinced  it  was  logical  and 
conclusive,  save  in  one  little  detail.  Tem- 
pest had  started  his  legal  career  with  a  cer- 
tain fixed  opinion  concerning  suicide  which 
he  never  altered — never  had  reason  to  alter 
— an  opinion  that  grew  into  conviction. 
Suicide  of  itself  he  held  never  was  and 
never  could  be  evidence  of  insanity.  He 
maintained  his  conviction  in  argument  on 
many  occasions — at  the  Hardwicke — at 
the  Union — in  the  courts.  He  carried  his 
theory  further,  though  not  with  equal  cer- 
tainty. But  he  laid  it  down  as  a  proposi- 
tion, yet  to  be  disproved,  that  save  in  excep- 
tional cases  an  insane  person  never  commits 
suicide;  and  he  confined  those  exceptional 
cases  to  cases  of  previously  provable  delu- 
sions of  fact,  which  facts,  if  true,  would 
[31] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

have  created  a  logical  and  sane  motive 
sufficient  to  have  resulted  in  the  suicide  of 
a  sane  individual.  He  maintained  that  the 
act  of  suicide  was  in  itself  a  sane  act,  for 
which  cause  was  required  to  be  shown,  and 
could  always  be  shown  if  the  facts  in  full 
were  available. 

Such  was  the  theory  upon  which  he  al- 
ways relied  whenever  in  the  course  of  his 
profession  he  was  brought  face  to  face  with 
a  necessity  for  the  elucidation  of  a  death. 
He  never  found  his  theory  at  fault. 
Tempted  he  often  was  at  first  sight  to  de- 
part from  it,  but  always  in  the  end  the  case 
would  prove  but  a  renewed  confirmation 
of  its  accuracy. 

Yet  what  was  the  motive  which  had 
caused  Dolores  Alvarez  to  destroy  herself? 
Why  did  she  do  it?  Why?  And  ever 
would  come  that  eternal  Why?  to  which  he 
could  suggest  no  answer. 

[32] 


CHAPTER  II 

"Understand  me  once  and  for  all, 
Evangeline,  I  absolutely  forbid  it." 

Head  in  the  air  the  girl  walked  out  of 
the  room,  slamming  the  door  behind  her. 

Lady  Stableford,  thoroughly  upset  by 
the  discussion  which  had  taken  place,  sank 
into  a  low  easy-chair  and  put  her  handker- 
chief to  her  eyes.  She  had  married  her 
husband  at  an  early  age,  and  had  passed  up 
the  social  ladder  with  him,  as  a  rapidly  de- 
veloping business  had  increasingly  pro- 
vided him  with  the  wealth  which  had 
opened  the  doors  of  Parliament  to  the  suc- 
cessful merchant,  and  finally  brought  him 
the  baronetcy  which  he  had  been  permitted 
to  pay  for,  so  that  his  political  and  party 
services  might  be  rewarded  therewith?  No 
child  had  blessed  their  marriage;  and  as 
time  drew  on,  and  unlikelihood  dissolved 
[33} 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

itself  into  impossibility,  the  old  lady 
yearned  the  more  for  the  child  to  mother 
and  take  care  of  which  was  denied  to  her. 
As  parliamentary  duties  appropriated  an 
increasing  portion  of  her  husband's  time, 
Lady  Stableford,  after  much  opposition,  at 
length  obtained  Sir  James'  consent  to  her 
adoption  of  a  child.  Finally  she  adver- 
tised under  an  assumed  name,  stipulating 
that  the  child  must  be  a  girl,  must  be  com- 
pletely and  irrevocably  transferred,  and 
thereafter  remain  in  ignorance  of  her  real 
parentage:  and  she  required  that  the  child 
must  be  of  gentle  birth. 

The  advertisement  was  answered  by  a  so- 
licitor on  behalf  of  a  client.  Lady  Stable- 
ford  attempted  to  insist  on  a  substantiated 
disclosure  of  the  parentage,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  negotiations  terminated  with 
the  refusal  of  the  information  and  the  con- 
sequent withdrawal  of  Lady  Stableford's 
offer  of  adoption.  Within  a  week  Lady 
[34] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Stableford,  returning  to  the  drawing-room 
after  a  solitary  dinner,  found  that  during 
her  absence  from  the  room,  a  child,  plainly 
only  a  few  days  old,  had  been  left  upon  the 
sofa.  The  flapping  of  the  blind  drew  her 
attention  to  the  still  open  French  window, 
the  obvious  means  by  which  access  to  the 
room  had  been  obtained.  At  once  sum- 
moning assistance,  Lady  Stableford  had 
her  park  and  gardens  carefully  searched, 
but  without  results.  For  some  time  the 
child  slept,  and  Lady  Stableford  was  puz- 
zled what  course  to  adopt.  She  objected 
to  an  unknown  child  being  thrust  upon  her 
in  that  way  and  without  her  consent;  but 
the  tiny  atom  of  humanity  woke  with  a 
plaintive  cry,  and  Lady  Stableford's  deci- 
sion was  made  at  once.  All  the  motherli- 
ness  of  her  nature  welled  up,  and  from  that 
moment  she  regarded  the  child  as  her  own 
and  treated  it  precisely  as  if  it  had  been. 
Assuming,  rightly  or  wrongly,  she  never 
[35] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

could  determine,  that  this  must  be  the  child 
concerning  which  she  had  been  in  com- 
munication, she  again  wrote  to  the  solicitor. 
After  an  interval  the  letter  was  returned  to 
her  from  the  Dead  Letter  Office,  marked 
"  gone ;  address  unknown."  An  appeal  to 
her  own  solicitors  to  help  her  at  once  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  there  was  no  solicitor  of 
the  name  upon  the  roll. 

Carefully  Lady  Stableford  had  exam- 
ined the  clothing  the  child  had  worn  and 
the  shawl  in  which  it  had  been  wrapped. 
Everything  was  new  and  of  good  quality, 
and  every  article  was  scrupulously  clean; 
but  there  was  no  tell-tale  coronet  upon  the 
clothing  to  suggest  romance,  nothing  by 
which  identity  could  be  traced.  Even  the 
clever  brains  of  her  solicitors  could  suggest 
no  steps  she  might  take  to  put  an  end  to  her 
doubts.  Of  birth-marks  the  child  had 
none. 

The  identity,  as  Lady  Stableford,  of  the 
[36] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

lady  who  had  advertised  the  offer  of  adop- 
tion she  knew  of  course  had  been  disclosed 
only  to  the  supposititious  solicitor  with 
whom  her  own  advisers  had  been  in  corre- 
spondence. There  could  be  little  if  any 
doubt  the  child  was  the  same ;  but  that  gave 
her  no  further  knowledge  than  the  bare 
fact,  if  her  supposition  were  correct,  that 
the  baby  girl  for  whom  she  had  now  ac- 
cepted the  responsibility  was  born  on  the 
1 8th  of  August,  1 88 1.  From  what  her  doc- 
tor could  tell  her  there  could  be  no  doubt 
that  if  that  were  not  actually  the  child's 
birthday,  her  birth  must  have  occurred 
within  the  margin  of  a  day  or  two  on  either 
side  of  it. 

The  child,  as  she  grew  up,  was  not  a  lov- 
able child ;  and  long  before  the  fair-haired 
baby  had  reached  that  stage  of  lankiness, 
when,  a  few  days  after  they  were  new,  her 
frocks  always  seemed  to  shrink  above  her 
knees,  emphasising  the  spindle  legs  which 
[37] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

needed  so  little  of  that  emphasis,  the  girl 
was  a  dark-haired  little  fury,  with  a  per- 
fectly ungovernable  temper. 

Increasing  years,  and  the  chronic  irrita- 
bility of  a  constant  invalid,  had  all  helped 
to  diminish  the  patience  of  Lady  Stable- 
ford;  and  a  child  of  the  temper  and  tem- 
perament of  the  wayward  Evangeline 
needs  an  endless  patience  in  her  bringing 
up,  which  patience  Lady  Stableford  had 
ceased  to  possess.  The  result  was  that  as 
time  went  on  the  child  was  left  more  and 
more  under  the  care  and  control  of  servants, 
none  too  wisely  chosen,  and  such  affection 
as  Lady  Stableford  had  originally  had  for 
the  lonesome  little  baby  had  degenerated 
into  the  loveless  duty  to  the  child  whose 
future  she  had  taken  into  her  own  hands. 

Her  schooldays  over,  Evangeline  came 
back  to  her  home — a  tall,  aristocratic-look- 
ing beauty;  and,  in  the  hope  of  companion- 
ship, Lady  Stableford  turned  again  to  the 

[38] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

girl.  But  it  was  then  too  late.  Of  duty 
the  girl  knew  nothing,  and  the  keen  mem- 
ory of  her  youthful  mind  matched  against 
any  present  show  of  affection  which  was 
made  to  her,  the  vivid  recollections  of  the 
scoldings  and  punishments  of  her  nursery 
days.  The  two  women  were  out  of  sym- 
pathy. The  old  lady  ceased  her  efforts,  the 
girl  never  attempted  to  make  any. 

The  pair  lived  together  in  the  same 
house.  The  girl's  life  was  one  constant  re- 
bellion against  the  irritable,  irritated,  and 
irritating  attempts  at  her  own  control  made 
by  the  elder  woman. 

Bored  to  extinction  by  the  life  she  was 
apparently  expected  to  lead,  exasperated 
by  the  querulous  exactions  of  the  irritable 
old  lady,  driven  inexorably  by  the  exuber- 
ance of  youth  and  the  nervous  restlessness 
of  hex  own  excitable  temperament,  Evan- 
geline had  made  up  her  mind  that  it  was  a 
necessity  to  her  that  she  should  find  occu- 
[39] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

pation  in  a  working  career.  The  girl  was 
probably  right,  but  it  by  no  means  followed 
that  her  choice  had  been  made  in  the  right 
direction.  That  choice  had  fallen  upon 
the  stage — had  been  expressed  to  Lady  Sta- 
bleford — and  the  interview  had  terminated 
with  an  emphatic  refusal  of  consent  and  an 
emphatic  forbidding  of  further  thoughts  in 
that  direction. 

Sir  James,  now  long  since  deceased,  had 
been  a  stalwart  among  Nonconformists. 
Lady  Stableford,  always  despising  in  her 
'heart  the  social  position  of  Nonconformity, 
had  nevertheless  lacked  the  moral  courage 
to  adopt  a  change  of  religious  persuasion, 
and,  until  increasing  years  relieved  her 
from  the  necessity  of  the  great  mental  effort 
involved  in  the  framing  of  plausible  ex- 
cuses for  absence,  continued,  Sunday  by 
Sunday,  to  "sit  under"  the  long  succession 
of  electro-plated  divines  who  held  forth  in 
the  building  which  her  husband  had  built, 
[40] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

endowed,  and  opened.  To  say  that  Lady 
Stableford  was  religious  would  not  be  ac- 
curate, because  all  that  a  lifetime  of  Non- 
conformity had  endowed  her  with  was  a  re- 
striction of  her  mental  aspect  to  the  intol- 
erant narrowness  of  the  bigoted  orthodoxy 
of  her  own  particular  brand.  Hatred  of 
the  theatre,  which  she  regarded  as  a  forc- 
ing house  of  sin,  was  one  of  those  fixed 
ideas  she  had  absorbed  and  accepted. 
Degradation  in  this  world  and  damnation 
in  the  next  she  believed  to  be  the  foreor- 
dained and  inevitably  resulting  conse- 
quence of  any  association  with  things  theat- 
rical. 

To  the  inherent  inclination  of  Evange- 
line towards  a  theatrical  career  was  now 
added  not  only  the  attraction  of  the  forbid- 
den thing,  but  also  the  fascination  of  that 
which  has  been  declared  to  be  wicked.  To 
this  composite  and  powerful  temptation  the 
girl  succumbed.  The  thing  was  inevit- 
[41] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

able — probably  would  have  happened  in 
any  case;  the  happening  was  in  all  likeli- 
hood no  more  than  precipitated  by  Lady 
Stableford's  attitude  and  prohibition.  But 
these  affected  the  relations  of  the  two  when 
the  separation  came,  and  caused  the  elder 
woman  many  a  long  month  of  pain  and  un- 
happiness,  of  stubborn  anger,  which  step 
by  step  had  mellowed  into  regret,  forgive- 
ness, and  then  into  comprehension  and  keen 
remorse.  Drilled  by  her  loneliness  the  old 
lady  at  last  swallowed  her  pride  and 
wrote  asking  the  girl  to  come  back  to  her. 
Lady  Stableford  had  waited  too  long. 
There  had  been  occasions,  many  and  oft  in- 
deed, when  Evangeline,  cowed  by  the  piti- 
ful hardships  in  the  poverty-stricken  ex- 
istence of  the  provincial  travelling  com- 
pany in  which  she  was  striving  to  master 
her  profession,  would  have  jumped  at  the 
invitation.  There  had  even  once  or  twice 
come  times  when,  heartbroken  by  illness, 

[42] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

by  lack  of  employment,  and  utter  weariness 
of  spirit,  the  girl's  pride  had  been  broken, 
and  she  had  penned  piteous  appeals  to  be 
allowed  to  return  home ;  but  the  letters  had 
never  been  sent,  and  at  last  had  come  suc- 
cess. The  girl's  reviving  spirit  soaked  up 
like  a  sponge  the  adulation  that  success 
brought  in  its  train,  and  her  parched  soul 
again  expanded  into  the  proud,  high-spir- 
ited temperament  which  had  been  her  in- 
heritance. But  hardship  bravely  borne  had 
chastened  her,  taught  her  forbearance  and 
charity  of  thought  and  had  given  her  some 
control  of  her  hot  temper. 

The  invitation  when  it  reached  her  was 
not  refused,  but  was  accepted  only  for  a 
visit.  A  tentative  suggestion  to  settle  a 
suitable  income,  and  in  return  that  Evange- 
line should  leave  the  stage,  was  gently  but 
firmly  put  on  one  side,  and  Lady  Stable- 
ford  perforce  had  to  content  herself  with 

the  consent  of  the   girl  to  make  her  old 
[43] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

home  her  headquarters,  living  there  when- 
ever her  profession  did  not  require  her 
presence  elsewhere,  and  with  the  acceptance 
of  a  liberal  allowance.  Once  again  the 
old  lady  altered  her  will,  and  once  more  the 
name  of  Evangeline  Stableford  stood  as 
chief  beneficiary  and  residuary  legatee. 


[44] 


CHAPTER   III 

FROM  time  to  time  in  the  ever-recurring 
sequence  of  murders  of  which  the  details 
are  given  to  the  world  by  a  vigilant  and 
busy  Press,  one  will  be  found  which  stands 
out  and  grips  the  public  attention.  Some- 
times it  is  the  gruesome  detail  of  the  crime 
which  awakens  the  interest  of  the  world  at 
large.  More  often  it  is  the  mystery  which 
envelopes  its  circumstance  and  stands  be- 
tween the  general  curiosity  and  the  satis- 
faction thereof  by  a  full  explanation  of  the 
motive.  But  the  greatest  excitement  al- 
ways occurs  when  the  victim  of  the  crime 
happens  to  be  an  individual  already,  on 
other  grounds,  well  known  to  the  public 
and  more  or  less  a  celebrity.  Such  a  mur- 
der occurred  a  few  days  before  Easter,  in 
the  year  1902.  Sir  John  Rellingham,  a  well- 
known  solicitor — one  of  the  most  promi- 
[-45  J 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

nent  men  in  his  profession — stayed  on  late 
at  his  offices  one  afternoon,  busily  engaged 
in  writing.  One  by  one  his  junior  partners 
and  managing  clerks  had  drifted  away, 
and,  after  the  office  clock  had  indicated  the 
hour  of  six,  Sir  John  and  his  confidential 
secretary  were  the  only  ones  who  remained 
in  the  building.  The  solicitor  rang  his 
bell,  and  his  secretary  presented  himself. 

"  There's  no  need  for  you  to  stay  any 
longer,  Smith.  Don't  wait  for  me.  I 
shall  be  busy  for  some  time." 

"  I've  just  been  working  on  those  Trent- 
beck  leases,  and  I  may  as  well  finish  them. 
I'm  really  in  no  hurry  to  go,  sir." 

"  Oh,  those  can  wait,  Smith.  I'd  rather 
you  went.  Just  lock  up  everything  before 
you  go." 

"  Very  well,  Sir  John,"  had  been  the  an- 
swer; and  the  man,  in  obedience  to  the  di- 
rections given  him,  had  put  books  and  pa- 
pers away,  locked  up  the  safe,   and  gone. 

[46] 


13 


.O 

od 


0) 
4) 


>0 

c 

o 


a 

o 


CO 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

Of  what  took  place  afterwards  no  one  had 
any  knowledge.  On  the  following  day  Sir 
John  was  found  still  seated  at  his  writing- 
table,  but  dead:  shot  through  the  temple. 

No  weapon  of  any  kind  was  found  in  the 
room,  and  the  appearance  of  the  wound 
left  no  doubt  that  the  shot  must  have  been 
fired  from  only  a  short  distance.  That  it 
was  murder  there  could  be  no  doubt.  Sui- 
cide was  perfectly  impossible. 

Before  the  coroner's  jury  had  brought  in 
their  verdict  of  "Wilful  murder  by  some 
person  or  persons  unknown,"  the  whole  of 
the  public  Press  was  seething  with  excite- 
ment. The  firm  of  Rellingham,  Baxter, 
Marston  &  Moorhouse  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  profession.  It  had  behind  it  more  than 
a  century  of  untarnished  and  honourable 
repute ;  half  the  peerage  employed  the  firm 
in  those  parts  of  their  legal  necessities 
which  were  of  a  reputable  character,  and 
the  name  of  one  or  other  of  the  partners  in 

[47] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  firm  was  to  be  found  as  a  trustee  in  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  great  family 
settlements  which  were  in  operation.  The 
capital  for  which  the  firm  somehow  or 
other  stood  in  the  relation  of  trustee  ran 
into  many  millions.  But  the  public  had 
become  suspicious  of  solicitor  trustees,  and 
every  one  waited  for  the  impending  crash 
to  which  the  mysterious  death  of  Sir  John 
appeared  to  be  the  usual  prelude.  Men 
whispered,  "  How  much  will  they  break 
for? "  But  the  crash  never  came.  An 
immediate  and  searching  audit,  required  at 
once  by  the  surviving  partners,  disclosed 
the  facts  that  there  was  not  a  penny  miss- 
ing, not  a  single  suspicious  circumstance  in 
the  affairs  of  the  firm.  Its  repute  was  as 
untarnished,  its  integrity  as  unchallengable 
as  had  been  the  case  throughout  the  long 
history  of  the  firm;  and  the  public  really 
began  to  believe  in  the  truth  of  the  verdict 
at  the  inquest.     The  murder,  of  course,  en- 

[48], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

gaged  the  keenest  attention  of  the  police; 
but  as  the  weeks  flew  by  without  producing 
any  explanation  of  the  mystery,  the  part- 
ners of  Sir  John  commenced  to  take  steps 
of  their  own.  Sir  John,  they  knew,  was  a 
widower,  without  children,  and  with  few 
relatives,  but  many  friends.  Carefully 
and  methodically  his  partners,  who  were 
his  executors,  examined  and  scrutinised 
every  paper  left  by  Sir  John  both  at  his 
house  and  at  his  office.  Everything  was 
perfectly  open,  straightforward,  and  free 
from  any  trace  of  suspicion  upon  which  a 
clue  could  be  founded.  Everything  was 
ordinary,  humdrum,  and  usual,  with  one 
exception. 

This  one  exception  was  a  clause  in  Sir 
John's  will,  and  this  clause  ran  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  I  give  and  bequeath,  free  of  all  charges 
and  legacy  duty,  the  sum  of  £20,000  to  my 
partners,  Arthur  Baxter,  Charles  Marston, 

[49] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  Edward  Moorhouse,  upon  trust,  to  be 
applied  by  them  to  and  for  the  purposes 
which  I  have  taken  steps  to  sufficiently  in- 
dicate to  them,  such  trust  to  be  executed 
according  to  their  honour  and  integrity,  of 
which  I  am  well  satisfied,  and  without  the 
interference,  check,  or  control  of  any  per- 
son or  persons  whomsoever;  and  I  direct 
that  if  at  any  time,  in  the  absolute  exercise 
of  their  unfettered  discretion,  they  or  the 
survivors  or  survivor  of  them  shall  at  any 
time  decide  that  the  further  existence  of 
the  trust  which  I  have  hereby  constituted 
and  created  has  become  impossible,  then 
and  forthwith  the  said  trust  shall  imme- 
diately cease  and  determine,  and  my  said 
partners  or  the  then  survivors  or  survivor 
of  them  shall  stand  possessed  in  their  or  his 
own  right  and  for  their  or  his  own  use  and 
benefit  of  the  capital  moneys  of  the  said 
trust,  and  shall  not  be  required  by  anybody 
to  render  accounts  or  explanations  of  their 

[50] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

or  his  dealings  with  the  trust  or  of  their  or 
his  action  or  actions  in  regard  to  it.  And 
I  further  direct  that  if  at  any  time  this  trust 
or  the  capital  moneys  of  this  trust  shall  be 
or  shall  become  the  subject  matter  of  litiga- 
tion through  the  interference,  or  interven- 
tion of  any  party  or  parties  other  than  my 
said  partners,  or  the  survivors  or  survivor 
of  them,  then  and  forthwith  and  from  the 
commencement  of  such  litigation  the  said 
trust  shall  cease  and  determine,  and  the 
capital  sums  of  the  said  trust  shall  be  dis- 
tributed and  applied  in  the  form  and  man- 
ner above  provided." 

In  due  course  of  time  the  will  of  Sir 
John  Rellingham  was  proved,  and,  as  was 
only  to  be  expected,  this  curious  clause  was 
reprinted  in  the  Press  pretty  widely.  The 
mystery  of  Sir  John's  murder  had  remained 
unsolved,  and  was  passing  into  the  oblivion 
of  public  forgetfulness,  when  curiosity  was 
again  aroused  by  the  strange  wording  of 
[51] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  clause  in  Sir  John's  will.  All  other 
clues  had  failed.  Here  was  the  chance  of 
a  clue.  The  sensational  Press  thundered 
for  a  full  revelation  of  this  secret  trust,  ar- 
guing speciously  that  the  mystery  of  Sir 
John's  death  was  a  matter  of  public  con- 
cern, and  private  interests  must  bow  to 
public  necessities.  The  partners  met  the 
demand  by  a  point-blank  refusal  to  disclose 
any  information  whatever.  As  one  of 
them — Arthur  Baxter — said  to  an  inquisi- 
tive reporter:  "The  public  know  of  the 
clause  in  the  will — the  law  has  compelled 
us  to  disclose  it;  but  if  we  could  have 
avoided  doing  so,  we  should  not  have  made 
even  that  much  public.  It  would  have  been 
possible,  by  making  other  arrangements  for 
Sir  John,  to  have  obviated  even  that  dis- 
closure; but  you  can  take  it  from  me  that 
a  secret  trust  in  a  will  is  not  an  uncommon 
occurrence.  If  Sir  John  had  not  been 
murdered,  the  clause  would  never  have  at- 
[52] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

tracted  any  attention.  But  Sir  John  was  a 
clever  lawyer,  and  he  knew  perfectly  well, 
when  he  drew  that  clause,  that  public  curi- 
osity as  to  its  meaning  need  not  be  satisfied, 
and  no  doubt  he  preferred  to  run  the  risk 
of  that  curiosity  rather  than  constitute  the 
trust  in  his  own  lifetime.  So  you  can  tell 
your  editor,  with  my  compliments  and  the 
compliments  of  the  firm  and  my  partners 
individually  and  collectively,  that  we  will 
see  him  and  his  paper  and  all  of  the  rest  of 
the  Press  a  good  deal  further  on  its  way  to 
an  undesirable  place  before  we  give  one 
word  of  explanation  of  that  clause." 

It  was  an  unwise  remark  to  have  made. 
Mr.  Baxter,  a  steady-going  solicitor,  in  the 
security  of  his  knowledge  of  the  law, 
scoffed  at  the  possibility  of  interference. 
He  had  no  experience  of  the  inquisitive 
prying  of  a  sensational  evening  paper.  The 
latter,  irritated  by  the  contempt  of  the  so- 
licitor, laid  itself  out  to  teach  him  a  due 

[53] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  proper  respect  for  the  power  of  the 
Press.  Day  after  day  it  returned  to  the  at- 
tack, demanding,  in  the  interests  of  justice, 
a  full  disclosure.  So  reiterated  became 
the  demand,  so  irritating  to  the  public  curi- 
osity was  the  blank  non  possumus  of  the  so- 
licitors, that  at  last  the  inevitable  happened 
and  the  public  came  to  believe  (a  perfectly 
unwarranted  hypothesis)  that  in  the  details 
of  the  trust  which  had  been  created  lay  the 
explanation  of  the  murder,  and  the  part- 
ners and  executors  were  publicly  hounded 
into  the  position  of  accomplices  in  the 
crime,  on  the  assumption  that  by  keeping 
the  trust  secret  they  were  assisting  the  cul- 
prit to  evade  the  claims  of  justice.  It  is 
not  difficult  for  an  energetic  newspaper  to 
create  such  an  impression,  and  the  obstinate 
silence  of  the  surviving  partners  of  Sir 
John  fanned  the  flame  of  public  curiosity. 
So  rooted  did  this  conviction  become  that 
at  last  it  took  hold  of  Scotland  Yard.  Once 
[54], 


THE     DUPLICATE    DEATH 

a  settled  conviction  obtains  a  footing  in  that 
quarter,  it  usually  sticks,  and  the  Home  Of- 
fice took  a  hand  in  the  game  and  asked  for 
an  assurance  from  the  firm  that  the  secret 
trust  had  no  connection  with  the  murder. 

The  firm  replied  that  they  were  unable 
to  give  that  or  any  other  assurance. 

A  lengthy  correspondence  followed, 
which  culminated  in  a  personal  letter  from 
the  Home  Secretary,  egged  on  by  Scotland 
Yard,  asking  the  partners  of  the  firm  to  dis- 
close in  confidence  the  terms  and  purposes 
of  the  secret  trust,  and  conveying  concur- 
rently an  intimation  that  the  disclosure 
could  be  made  personally  to  the  Home 
Secretary  without  witnesses,  and  his  per- 
sonal assurance  that,  no  matter  what  the 
trust  might  be,  no  action  against  any  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  should  be  based  upon  any 
such  disclosure. 

The  letter  was  misunderstood.  The 
promise  of  the  indemnity  was  made  bona 
[55] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

fide.  The  Home  Secretary  was  perfectly 
cognisant  that  many  secret  trusts  are  illegal 
or  made  for  illegal  objects,  and  his  only 
desire  was  to  let  the  firm  know  that  he  per- 
sonally would  respect  that  trust  and  their 
confidence,  if  they  would  show  him  that 
this  particular  trust  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  murder. 

Knowing  the  high  reputation  the  firm  de- 
servedly enjoyed,  the  partners  were  per- 
fectly furious  at  the  bare  suggestion  that 
they  might  be  parties  to  either  illegal  or 
dishonest  actions,  and  the  reply  to  the  Home 
Secretary  was  brief  and  to  the  point. 

"  Sir, — On  behalf  of  myself  and  the 
other  surviving  partners  of  this  firm,  I  beg 
to  state  that  we  resent  the  tone  and  contents 
and  the  insinuations  of  your  letter.  We 
point-blank  decline  to  supply  you  with  any 
information  whatsoever. — I  am,  sir,  your 
obedient  servant,    (Arthur  Baxter)   for 

[56] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Rellingham,    Baxter,    Marston    &   Moor- 
house." 

The  Home  Secretary  replied  in  another 
personal  letter,  regretting  that  his  letter  had 
been  misunderstood,  and  stating  that  he  felt 
assured  the  letter  of  Mr.  Baxter  had  been 
written  in  momentary  irritation,  and  that 
the  firm,  upon  reconsideration,  would  see 
that  the  most  satisfactory  course  to  pursue 
would  be  a  compliance  with  his  suggestion. 
The  answer  to  the  second  letter  was  still 
briefer  than  had  been  the  former. 

"  SIR, — You  can  go  to  the  devil  or  wher- 
ever else  you  feel  inclined. — Yours  faith- 
fully, Arthur  Baxter." 

And  the  Home  Secretary  was  on  the 
horns  of  a  dilemma.  Afraid  to  litigate  and 
thus  end  the  trust — for  the  terms  of  the 
will  were  before  him — worried   by   Scot- 

[57] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

land  Yard  to  compel  a  revelation,  which 
the  determined  opposition  he  was  meeting 
seemed  only  to  intensify  the  apparent  ne- 
cessity of — he  nevertheless  clearly  saw  there 
was  another  possibility.  Were  the  part- 
ners in  the  firm  with  diabolical  cunning 
simply  doing  all  they  knew  to  compel  him 
to  litigate,  and  by  so  doing  convey  to  them 
the  actual  property  in  the  capital  moneys 
of  the  trust,  free  from  any  legal  or  moral 
liability?  And  with  the  ingrained  suspi- 
cion of  the  Government  official  he  decided 
this  must  be  the  true  explanation. 

Finally,  on  an  ex  parte  motion,  he  ob- 
tained an  injunction  pending  proceedings, 
restraining  the  trustees  from  taking  any 
steps  in  regard  to  the  dissolution  and  reali- 
sation of  the  trust.  Having  done  this  he 
served  notice  upon  them  of  his  intention  to 
apply  for  a  rule  requiring  them  to  show 
cause  why  the  trust  should  not  be  disclosed 
and  the  capital  moneys  paid  into  court. 
[58] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

And  then  Mr.  Baxter  went  and  con- 
sulted Ashley  Tempest. 

"  It  isn't  often  you  come  here  on  business, 
Baxter,"  said  the  barrister,  as  he  rose  to 
greet  his  caller. 

"No;  our  work  isn't  often  in  your  line. 
I  think  it's  nearly  fifty  years  since  we  liti- 
gated a  criminal  case,  and  we  don't  often 
litigate  on  the  King's  Bench  side  either. 
To  be  perfectly  frank  with  you,  Tempest, 
I've  come  here  as  much  for  your  advice  as 
a  man  of  the  world  as  a  barrister." 

"There  are  a  good  many  men  better 
qualified  to  give  that  kind  of  counsel  than 
I  am." 

"  Possibly,  but  they  haven't  your  knowl- 
edge of  criminal  law.  Do  you  know  any- 
thing about  trusts,  Tempest?" 

"  A  bit — I  daresay  as  much  as  most  of 
the  men  on  our  side  of  the  hedge.  But  if 
it's  a  trust,  why  don't  you  go  to  Overhill?  " 

"  I'm  going  on  to  him  presently — when 
[59] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

I've  heard  what  you've  got  to  say.  But 
these  chancery  men  always  seem  to  me  to  be 
machines  without  humanity.  To  be  can- 
did, my  partners  and  I  want  to  know  ex- 
actly where  we  stand  over  this  infernal  se- 
cret trust  which  old  Sir  John  strapped  on 
our  shoulders.  I  suppose  you've  heard 
about  it?" 

"  I've  seen  what  the  newspapers  have 
had  to  say,  and  I've  heard  the  usual  gossip 
that's  gone  on.  What's  the  trouble?  But 
are  you  wise  in  coming  to  me?  Suppose  it 
is — of  course  I  don't  know — suppose  it  is 
mixed  up  with  Sir  John's  murder,  and 
the  defence  brief  were  to  come  along  to 
me,  it  might  prove  very  inconvenient  to 
you?" 

"I  don't  think  so.  My  partners  and  I 
talked  it  over,  on  the  supposition  that  in 
such  a  case  you  would  get  the  brief,  and 
I  have  come  to  you,  at  the  express  wish  of 
the  three  of  us.    You  see,  we  don't  know 

[60] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

yet  what  the  real  objects  of  this  secret  trust 
are." 
"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean?  " 
"Just  what  I  say,  Tempest.  The  trust, 
as  it  appears  from  the  clause  of  the  will,  is 
a  holy  terror  of  a  mystery;  but  when  you 
come  to  read  our  instructions  you'll  find 
that  it's  twenty  times  as  much  a  mystery. 
Here,  read  this!"  and  the  solicitor  passed 
across  a  letter. 

"To  Arthur  Baxter,  Charles  Mar- 
ston,  Edward  Moorhouse,  my  partners 
and  friends. 

"  Forgive  me  if  I  remind  you  that  your 
partnerships  in  the  firm  were  not  purchased 
in  cash,  but  were  given  to  you  by  myself  in 
testimony  of  my  high  appreciation  of  your 
several  abilities,  of  your  worth,  your  integ- 
rity, and  discretion.  I  have  always  had 
and  still  retain  my  high  opinion  of  you  all. 
As  you  will  be  aware,  from  my  will,  my  re- 
[61- J 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

maining  half  share  in  the  proprietorship  of 
the  firm  I  have  bequeathed  equally  amongst 
you,  and  I  have  in  my  will  also  bequeathed 
to  you  jointly  the  sum  of  £20,000  upon 
trust.  May  I  rest  assured  you  will  repay 
the  obligations  I  remind  you  of,  by  accept- 
ing the  trouble  this  trust  may  entail?  The 
object  of  the  trust  is  to  pay  the  annual  in- 
come arising  from  the  capital  moneys  of 
the  trust  to  the  partners  in  the  firm  for  the 
time  being,  as  an  annual  payment  for  their 
services  in  preserving  that  capital  intact. 
Whatever  changes  may  take  place  in  the 
firm  after  my  death  at  any  time  during  the 
continuance  of  the  trust,  I  desire  that  the 
necessary  steps  shall  be  taken  for  its  proper 
preservation.  A  certain  eventuality  may 
at  some  time  arise,  for  which  I  wish  to  pro- 
vide, should  it  ever  happen.  But  I  cannot 
provide  for  it,  save  by  a  disclosure  which 
would  amount  to  a  breach  of  honour,  a 
breach  of  confidence,  and  a  breach  of  trust. 

[62] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATU 

That  eventuality  may  never  arise.  Writ- 
ing calmly  and  deliberately  I  say,  for  your 
guidance,  that  it  is  probable  that  it  never 
will  arise;  but  if  it  ever  does,  then  certain 
information  is  necessary  to  enable  you  to  act 
justly  and  as  I  desire.  That  information 
is  contained  in  the  sealed  packet  which' 
you  will  find  herewith;  but,  if  you  have 
any  gratitude  to  my  memory,  then  I  sol- 
emnly charge  you  to  respect  my  wishes  that 
that  packet  shall  remain  sealed  and  its  con- 
tents unexamined  until  events  compel  this 
by  the  occurrence  of  the  eventuality  for 
which  I  am  providing.  I  cannot  indicate 
what  that  eventuality  will  be,  or  in  what 
manner  it  will  arise,  and  I  leave  the  point 
entirely  to  your  discretion  to  determine 
whether  it  has  arrived  or  not.  I  say  only, 
that  if  it  does  you  will  at  once  recognise  it. 
It  will  be  plainly  apparent  beyond  doubt 
that  it  has  arisen,  and  I  warn  you  that  any 
eventuality  as  to  which  you  have  doubt  can- 
[63] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

not  be  the  one  I  am  providing  for.  If  at 
the  end  of  a  hundred  years,  from  the  18th 
August  1 88 1,  no  such  eventuality  has 
arisen,  it  will  by  then  be  impossible  for  it 
ever  to  occur,  and  I  then  desire  that  this 
packet  shall  be  destroyed  unopened.  The 
commencement  of  any  litigation  which 
may  involve  the  disclosure  of  the  informa- 
tion in  the  packet  is  to  be  held  to  be  the  ter- 
mination of  the  trust,  and  I  desire  this  my 
wish  to  be  regarded  as  a  vital  part  of  the 
trust,  and  I  leave  it  as  a  sacred  charge 
upon  you  all  that  the  packet  shall  be  im- 
mediately destroyed.  Offering  you  my 
gratitude,  not  only  for  your  past  devotion  to 
the  firm,  but  also  for  the  personal  friend- 
ship of  yourselves,  which  it  has  been  my 
privilege  to  enjoy. — I  remain,  your  affec- 
tionate partner,  JOHN  Rellingham." 


ter." 


"You  are  right  about  the  mystery,  Bax- 
[64} 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Yes.  I  wonder  if  any  such  trust  has 
ever  been  created  before!" 

"  I  doubt  it.  Still,  it's  all  pretty  plain 
sailing.  You  three  are  just  to  draw  the  in- 
come till  some  overpowering  circumstance 
occurs  which  advertises  itself  as  the  occa- 
sion Sir  John  refers  to." 

"  I  haven't  told  you  quite  all,  Tempest. 
The  Home  Secretary  has  commenced  liti- 
gation, and  he  has  also  obtained  an  ex 
parte  injunction,  restraining  our  firm  from 
destroying  any  documents  or  dealing  with 
the  trust,  pending  an  order  of  the 
court." 

"  Then  by  the  terms  of  the  will  the  trust 
is  already  at  an  end,  and  you  rake  in  and 
divide  the  capital.  But  it's  rather  awk- 
ward about  the  documents.  By  the  terms 
of  the  trust  they  must  at  once  be  destroyed, 
and  yet  you  say  the  Crown  have  got  an  in- 
junction to  prevent  you.  What  have  you 
done?" 

[65] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"What  should  you  have  done,  Tem- 
pest?" 

The  barrister  laughed.  "Are  you  here 
for  a  professional  opinion?" 

"  Well,  suppose  you  give  me  that  to  be- 
gin with?" 

"Then  I'm  bound  to  tell  you  you  must 
obey  the  order  of  the  court,  which  over- 
rides the  terms  of  the  trust,  and  I'm  bound 
to  advise  you  that  disobedience  would  be 
flagrant  contempt  of  court,  for  which  the 
penalty  is  imprisonment  until  the  contempt 
is  purged.  Still,  all  that's  ancient  history 
to  you  and  your  firm.  You  didn't  come 
here,  I'll  warrant,  just  for  me  to  tell  you 
that  much." 

"  No,  Tempest,  I  didn't." 

The  two  men  looked  at  each  other,  and 
gradually  a  smile  formed  itself  on  each 
face. 

"And  I'm  pretty  certain,"  said  the  bar- 
rister, "you  did  not  come  here  for  me 
[66] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

to  tell  you  what  to  do.  What  have  you 
done?" 

"Tempest — frankly,  now — tell  me  what 
you  think  we  ought  to  have  done.  I've 
told  you  our  legal  difficulty;  but  there's  the 
other  one,  and  that's  why  I  came  to  you. 
Are  these  documents  likely  to  be  a  clue  to 
the  murder?  If  so,  ought  we  to  disclose 
them?  You  are  an  adept  at  murders — or 
rather  at  elucidating  them.  What  do  you 
think?" 

"What  a  situation!" 

The  barrister  rose  to  his  feet  and  lit  a 
cigarette  as  he  began  to  pace  his  room, 
backwards  and  forwards  along  the  well- 
marked  path  across  his  carpet.  The  solic- 
itor sat  and  watched  him — watched  his  im- 
passive face — watched  the  quick,  nervous 
fingers  as  they  clicked  the  rings  upon  them 
backwards  and  forwards — watched  the 
cigarette  smoked  to  the  end  and  thrown 
away  as  another  was  lighted  from  it.    At 

[67] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

last  the  barrister  came  to  a  pause  in  front 
of  his  fireplace. 

"Baxter,  the  murder  has  proved  an  in- 
soluble mystery,  depending  upon  an  un- 
known motive.  You  know  everything 
about  Sir  John's  affairs,  except  what  those 
papers  may  disclose.  You  cannot  find  a 
basis  for  a  motive  in  what  you  know.  The 
odds  are  the  clue  is  hidden  in  those  pa- 
pers." 

"  I  agree  with  you.  I  should  say  that  is 
probable." 

"But  no  man  contemplates  his  own  mur- 
der without  taking  steps  to  avert  it,  if  that 
be  possible.  Sir  John  took  no  steps  at  all. 
No  man  would  sit  down  to  be  murdered, 
and  content  himself  with  providing  evi- 
dence to  catch  his  murderer  afterwards. 
Sir  John  never  created  the  trust  for  that 
purpose.  You  can  rest  assured  this  is  not 
the  eventuality  to  provide  for  which  that 
trust    was    created.     It    exists    for    some 

[68] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

widely  different  purpose.  And  there's 
another  thing,  Baxter.  Sir  John  says  a 
disclosure  would  be  a  breach  of  faith. 
That  would  involve  a  third  person.  It  is 
that  third  person  on  whose  behalf  Sir  John 
has  gone  to  all  that  trouble.  It  wasn't 
himself  he  was  bothering  about.  So  long 
as  he  was  alive  he  could  have  dealt  with 
the  thing  himself,  or  he  might  have  been 
waiting  for  the  knowledge  that  it  never 
would  arise.  That  was  why  he  did  not 
constitute  the  trust  during  his  own  lifetime, 
but  preferred  rather  to  run  the  risk  of 
public  curiosity  about  the  clause  in  his 
will." 

"What   should   you   have   done,   Tem- 
pest? " 

"  I  should  have  destroyed  the  papers,  I 
think;  but  there  is  one  awful  risk.  Sup- 
pose they  do  contain  the  clue  to  the  mur- 
der, and  through  the  lack  of  that  clue  an 
innocent  person  gets  hanged?" 
[69] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Well,  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  burnt  them 
yesterday." 

"Then  you  elected  to  run  that  risk?" 

"  Tempest,  it  isn't  fair  to  a  lawyer  to  tell 
him  only  half  the  tale.  Wrapped  round 
the  papers  was  another  slip.  As  nearly  as 
I  remember,  the  words  written  on  it  were 
as  follows: — 

"'This  paper  is  to  be  burnt  the  moment 
it  has  been  read.  I  desire  that  no  memo- 
randum of  it  shall  ever  be  put  into  writ- 
ing. If  litigation  is  threatened,  this 
packet  is  to  be  burned  immediately.  A 
duplicate  set  of  the  papers  is  deposited  in 
the  name  of  the  firm  at  the  Chancery  Lane 
Safe  Deposit.  The  existence  of  this  dupli- 
cate set  is  not  to  be  disclosed.  I  leave  it 
to  the  honour  and  integrity  of  my  partners 
that  if  under  litigation  the  trust  ceases  to 
exist,  it  shall  at  the  earliest  safe  opportu- 
nity be  again  reconstituted.' " 

"  That  does  away  with  the  risk  I  spoke 
[70] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

of.  You  were  certainly  right  to  destroy 
the  papers." 

"  In  spite  of  the  court?  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  so.  I'm  sure  of  it.  The 
old  boy  intended  you  to  stand  the  racket. 
I  should  fancy  he  anticipated  it,  though 
it's  more  likely  he  expected  litigation  from 
the  heir-at-law  than  the  Crown." 

"  That  is  the  conclusion  my  partners  and 
I  came  to.  But,  Tempest,  ought  we  to  dis- 
close the  other  simply  to  catch  the  mur- 
derer?" 

"No,  I  think  not.  Sir  John  is  dead. 
You  can't  bring  him  to  life  again.  All 
you  can  do  is  to  regard  his  wishes.  I  bet 
he'd  prefer  that  to  the  stringing  up  of  some 
poor  devil." 

When  the  motion  came  on  in  court  the 
trust  was  upheld.  As  constituted  under 
the  will  it  had  been  perfectly  valid;  but 
now  under  the  terms  of  the  will  the  litiga- 
tion had  put  an  end  to  it,  and  the  court 
[71] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

ruled  that  the  capital  moneys  had  now 
vested  in  the  surviving  partners  for  their 
own  benefit. 

"  Come  and  dine  with  all  of  us  to-night, 
Tempest,"  said  one  of  the  partners,  as  they 
left  the  law  courts  after  hearing  judgment 
given.  "We're  in  a  deuce  of  a  quan- 
dary!" 

The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  after 
dinner,  the  four  men  sat  over  the  walnuts 
and  the  wine  in  the  sumptuously  furnished 
bachelor  chambers  of  Arthur  Baxter. 

"  You  see,  Tempest,"  said  the  host,  "  the 
secret  trust  is  already  reconstituted.  We 
did  it  this  afternoon.  We  can't  afford  to 
run  the  risk  of  one  of  us  dying  and  his  ex- 
ecutors claiming  any  proprietorship  in  the 
money.  So  the  position  now  is  exactly  as 
it  was  when  the  will  was  first  proved.  But 
now  that  the  court  has  declared  the  money 
to  belong  to  us  personally,  the  state  of  af- 
fairs isn't  particularly  pleasant,  because 
[72]   J 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

that  infernal  evening  rag  is  bound  to  adopt 
the  standpoint  that  by  preventing  the  eluci- 
dation of  the  murder  we  have  advantaged 
our  own  pockets,  and  that  we  took  the  line 
we  did  for  that  reason." 

"Is  that  as  far  as  you've  got,  Baxter?" 
"  Yes,  but  what  do  you  mean?  " 
"  My  dear  man,  don't  you  see  what  the 
logical  consequence  is?     Don't  any  of  you 
see  it?  " 

The  three  solicitors  looked  at  each  other 
in  surprise,  and  then  glanced  back  at  Tem- 
pest, as  his  grave  face  rilled  with  concern, 
and  they  looked  the  question  to  him  which 
they  waited  for  the  barrister  to  answer. 

"  Moorhouse,  I  saw  you  at  Epsom,  so  I 
suppose  you  bet?  Well,  I'll  lay  you  a 
pound  to  a  penny  that  unless  the  real  mur- 
derer of  Sir  John  is  discovered  pretty 
quickly,  one  or  other  of  you  three,  if  not  all 
of  you,  will  be  accused  of  the  murder — ve,ry 
likely  arrested  for  it,  if  they  can  find  the 
[73] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

semblance  of  any  circumstantial  evidence. 
If  you'll  take  my  advice,  you'll  look  pretty 
carefully  to  your  alibis  on  the  evening  and 
night  Sir  John  was  murdered." 

"You  cannot  mean  that  seriously,  Tem- 
pest?" 

"  I  do  mean  it,  and  I'm  perfectly  serious. 
You  three  men  are  not  in  an  enviable  posi- 
tion."' 

As  Tempest  spoke  he  looked  across  the 
table  to  where  Marston  was  sitting.  His 
face  had  gone  as  white  as  a  sheet,  and  his 
fingers  were  trembling  as  mechanically  he 
eased  the  collar  at  his  throat. 

"What's  the  matter,  Marston?"  said  one 
of  his  partners. 

11  It's  three  months  ago.  I've  no  more 
idea  than  the  man  in  the  moon  what  I  was 
doing  that  evening." 

"  Keep  an  engagement  book? "  asked 
Tempest. 

"  No — not  private  things.  Just  stick  the 
[U] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

cards  up  on  the  mantelpiece  till  the  shows 
are  over  and  then  pitch  'em  away." 

"Nor  a  diary?" 

"  No.     Never  did  such  a  thing." 

"Would  your  wife  know?" 

"  Haven't  got  a  wife." 

"  Do  you  think  your  servants  would  be 
likely  to?" 

"  No.    What  can  I  do,  Tempest?  " 

"Well,  praying  seems  to  be  about  all 
that's  left." 

"  Why  do  you  think  we  are  any  of  us 
likely  to  be  accused?" 

"  Simply  because  you  must  have  motive 
for  a  murder.  No  one  knows  or  can  sug- 
gest the  shadow  of  a  motive  in  regard  to 
Sir  John.  You  three  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately and  all  his  private  affairs  know  of 
nothing  that  even  hints  at  a  motive.  You 
have  gone  through  all  his  papers  since  his 
death,  and  you  can  find  nothing  there  to 
give  you  a  clue.  Nobody,  as  far  as  you 
[75] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

know,  stood  to  profit  by  Sir  John's  death 
except " 

"  Except  whom?" 

"  Except  yourselves.  Now,  remember 
the  police  know  less  than  you  do,  so  they 
can  guess  at  no  motive,  save  the  obvious 
one  I  have  pointed  out  to  you — that  half- 
penny rag  has  hounded  Scotland  Yard  on 
till  they  got  the  Home  Office  to  interfere 
about  the  trust.  They  will  go  on  now — 
mark  my  words — on  the  basis  that  the  line 
you  three  took  was  dictated  by  your  desire 
to  bring  the  trust  to  an  end.  They  will 
point  out  how  you  all  stood  to  benefit  by 
Sir  John's  death.  They  will  assume — no 
matter  how  much  you  may  deny  it — that 
being  his  partners  you  three  were  aware 
beforehand  both  of  the  terms  of  the  will 
and  of  the  trust.  Don't  forget  what  the 
terms  of  the  will  were — '  to  be  applied  by 
them  to  and  for  the  purposes  which  I  have 
taken  steps  to  sufficiently  indicate  to  them ' 

[76] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

— and  don't  forget  he  divides  his  share  of 
the  partnership  with  you.  Just  think  what 
the  obvious  meaning  of  that  is — what  nine 
men  out  of  ten  would  assume  to  be  the 


meaning 

"  What  do  you  say  that  is,  Tempest?  " 

"  Simply  that  he  had  already  told  you. 
Nobody  would,  by  the  wildest  guess,  be 
likely  to  imagine  the  existence  of  such  a 
letter  as  he  left.  And  even  the  letter  you 
can't  in  honour  disclose  till  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  life  and  death." 

"  It  doesn't  seem  to  be  very  far  of!  being 
that  even  now." 

"  There's  another  thing  you  fellows  have 
overlooked.  That  shot  was  obviously 
fired  inside  the  room.  There  was  nobody 
in  the  offices  when  Smith  left,  except  Sir 
John.     How  many  keys  are  there?" 

"We've  each  got  one.  Smith  has  one 
and  the  cleaner  has  one.  The  clerks  come 
whilst  she  is  there.  She  does  their  rooms 
[  77  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

first  and  then  does  ours  afterwards.  They 
arrive  before  she  has  finished." 

"Had  Sir  John  a  key?" 

"  Yes.  We  found  it  on  his  bunch  in  his 
pocket  after  he  was  dead." 

"Then  his  key  wasn't  used.  Now, 
Smith  locked  the  door  when  he  left.  It's 
a  spring  latch — that  came  out  at  the  in- 
quest. So  did  Smith's  alibi  that  evening. 
So  did  the  old  woman's.  That  only  leaves 
the  three  keys  you  chaps  have.  There's  no 
difficulty  about  getting  Out  afterwards — 
it's  the  getting  in  that  matters." 

"God!  Tempest,  you  are  building  up 
a  case  against  us." 

"Well,  there's  only  one  loophole;  and 
that's  the  possibility  that  Sir  John  himself 
opened  the  door  to  his  murderer.  I  really 
think  that's  the  true  explanation,  because 
he  had  previously  told  Smith  he  wished 
him  to  go.  I'm  pretty  certain  myself  that 
Sir  John  was  expecting  somebody  whom 
[78  1 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

he  wished  to  see  without  the  visit  being 
known.  But  the  police  will  try  the  other 
tack  first,  and  they  will  try  and  fix  the  re- 
sponsibility on  one  or  all  of  you  three. 
Don't  let  me  frighten  you  too  soon.  They 
couldn't  get  a  conviction  on  what  we  or 
they  know  at  present;  but  once,  by  accident 
or  by  research,  they  can  get  any  fact  that 
seems  to  corroborate  the  theory,  then  the 
position  is  changed.  You  can  rest  assured 
they  are  looking  for  such  a  fact  already. 
That's  what  I  meant  in  warning  you  about 
your  alibis." 

"Well,  mine's  good  enough,"  said  Bax- 
ter.    "  I  was  at  the  club." 

"What  time  did  you  go  there?" 

"About  eight,  and  I  stayed  playing 
cards  till  nearly  midnight." 

"Baxter,    don't   forget   Smith    left   Sir 

John  soon  after  six.     His  dead  body  wasn't 

found  till  next  morning.    You've  got  to 

account  for  the  time  from  six  to  eight  and 

[79] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

after  midnight.  Then  Marston  has  abso- 
lutely forgotten.  How  about  you,  Moor- 
house?" 

"  Oh,  I  was  at  the  theatre." 

"  That's  only  another  partial  one,  then. 
Why  on  earth  don't  you  people  try  to  find 
out  who  did  murder  the  man  and  not  wait 
till  you  are  in  sight  of  the  rope  yourselves 
before  you  start?  " 

"But  what  can  we  do?" 

"  You  can  offer  a  reward  for  one  thing. 
You  can  engage  Dennis  Yardley,  the  de- 
tective, for  another." 

"Tempest,  can  we  make  it  worth  your 
while  for  you  to  take  a  hand  in  it?  " 

"No.  I'm  not  keen  at  playing  detect- 
ive professionally.  It's  not  my  profession. 
But  I  don't  mind  helping  Yardley,  as  I've 
done  in  other  cases,  if  that's  what  you 
want." 

"Will  you  take  a  retainer  from  us?" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 
[80] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  In  case  any  of  us  are  accused." 

"Oh,  certainly.  Fix  it  up  with  my 
clerk  in  the  morning.  Book  it  as  in  re 
Rellingham.  Now,  don't  do  anything  to 
draw  suspicion  upon  yourselves,  but  do 
your  utmost  to  account  for  how  you  all 
spent  that  particular  night.  Of  course,  I 
may  be  quite  wrong  in  what  I've  said.  I 
hope  I  am,  but  I  can't  help  seeing  the  risk." 

The  four  men  separated,  each  going  his 
lonely  way  home.  But  justification  of  all 
Tempest  had  said  was  to  follow  quickly. 
Step  by  step,  on  the  very  lines  the  barrister 
had  indicated,  the  case  was  argued  the  fol- 
lowing day  in  a  leader  in  the  same  paper 
that  had  previously  taken  up  the  matter, 
and  the  article  wound  up  with  a  definite 
demand  for  the  arrest  and  trial  of  the  three 
surviving  partners  in  the  firm. 

That  a  conviction  could  be  obtained  was 
a  proposition  which  few  cared  to  admit; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  bulk  of  the  pub- 

[81] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

lie  were  quite  willing  to  commit  them- 
selves to  the  ready  admission  that  "  there 
might  be  something  in  it  after  all."  And, 
day  by  day,  as  the  suspicion  grew,  the  posi- 
tion of  the  three  solicitors  became  almost 
unbearable.  They  felt  themselves  slowly 
but  only  too  certainly  drifting  into  the  po- 
sition of  social  lepers.  And  there  was 
nothing  more  that  they  could  do.  They 
thought  of  libel,  and  the  thing  went  to 
Lake  Rodgers,  K.  C,  for  an  opinion.  His 
opinion  was  that  the  article  had  been  so 
carefully  written  that  it  contained  no  libel, 
and  the  opinion  ended  with  the  friendly 
hint  that  a  failure  to  obtain  a  verdict  would 
probably  be  more  damaging  under  the  cir- 
cumstances than  inaction. 


[82]' 


CHAPTER   IV 

The  summer  of  1902  slowly  slipped 
away.  Twenty  years  had  now  passed  since 
Ashley  Tempest  had  hung  up  the  minia- 
ture of  the  dead  Dolores  in  his  chambers 
— to  him  twenty  busy  and  eventful  years. 
He  was  by  now  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  his  profession — the  busiest  junior  at  the 
bar.  The  courts  had  risen  for  the  vacation 
which  Tempest  was  to  spend  with  the  Shif- 
nals.  Securing  his  seat  in  the  train  at 
Euston,  he  had  bought  the  evening  papers 
and  pitched  them  in  a  heap  in  the  corner 
he  had  appropriated,  and  after  doing  so 
was  standing  in  the  fresh  air  until  the  last 
moment,  smoking  one  of  his  perpetual 
cigarettes. 

As  the  doors  were  being  noisily  slammed 
along  the  train,  he  jumped  in  and  soon  was 
smoothly  gliding  towards  his  destination. 
[83], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

He  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief,  for  with  the 
start  from  London  he  felt  his  holiday  had 
begun,  and  he  could  put  the  worries  of  his 
work  behind  him.  Opening  a  copy  of  the 
Globe  his  attention  was  caught  by  the 
leaded  capitals  announcing  a  "  Sensational 
Tragedy."  The  report  that  followed  was 
not  very  lengthy: 

"A  gruesome  discovery  has  been  made 
this  afternoon  at  the  Charing  Cross  Hotel. 
A  chambermaid,  on  entering  one  of  the 
bedrooms  in  the  annexe  which  had  not 
been  let  and  which  was  supposed  to  be  un- 
occupied, was  horror-struck  to  find  lying 
upon  the  bed  the  dead  and  nude  body  of  a 
young  woman.  On  the  table  by  the  bedside 
was  an  opened  half-bottle  of  champagne 
and  a  glass,  evidently  that  from  which  the 
wine  had  been  drunk.  We  are  informed 
that  the  victim  of  this  tragedy,  the  facts  of 
which  plainly  point  to  suicide,  was  of  sur- 
passing beauty,  but  is  unknown  in  the 
[84] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

hotel.  No  one  can  identify  the  body,  and 
all  the  staff  of  the  hotel  emphatically  de- 
clare the  lady  was  not  registered  there  as 
a  visitor.  Life  had  only  been  extinct  for  a 
short  time,  as  the  body,  when  found,  was 
still  warm." 

Tempest  read  the  account  with  amaze- 
ment, for  in  every  detail  it  reproduced  the 
story  which  was  so  deeply  engraved  on  his 
memory.  Here  was  what  he  had  been 
waiting  for  for  twenty  years — a  case  of  sui- 
cide, with  a  nude  body.  Save  in  cases  of 
drowning,  that  one  detail  had  differenti- 
ated the  case  of  Dolores  Alvarez  from  all 
others  he  had  ever  heard  of,  and  it  had  al- 
ways puzzled  him.  He  had  waited  and 
waited  for  a  similar  case,  hoping  that  by 
some  chance  the  motive  or  some  other  cir- 
cumstance might  give  him  the  clue  to  an 
answer  to  the  perpetual  Why?  which  was 
ever  in  his  mind  as  often  as  his  eyes  turned 
to  the  miniature  over  his  mantelpiece.  He 
[85] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

had  waited  in  vain,  until  here  at  last  was 
what  he  had  looked  for,  and  that  a  more 
exact  reproduction  of  the  former  story  than 
his  wildest  dreams  had  ever  led  him  to  im- 
agine could  possibly  occur.  He  put  the 
paper  down,  and  as  the  train  ran  into  Wil- 
lesden  his  mind  was  made  up.  Calling  a 
porter  to  look  after  his  luggage  he  wired 
to  Lady  Shifnal,  postponing  his  visit,  and 
returned  to  town  by  the  underground. 
Leaving  the  train  at  Westminster  Station 
he  walked  into  Scotland  Yard  and  asked 
for  Inspector  Parkyns. 

"  Parkyns,"  he  said,  "  I  want  you  to  do 
me  a  favour." 

"  Delighted  to,  if  I  can,  Mr.  Tempest." 

"  You've  seen  the  account  of  this  suicide 
at  the  Charing  Cross  Hotel?" 

"Yes.  As  it  happens,  the  case  is  in  my 
hands." 

"That's  lucky.  I  want  you  to  take  me 
and  let  me  see  the  room  and  the  body  with- 
[86], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

out  making  any  fuss  about  it.  Can  you  do 
it?" 

"Well,  perhaps  it  can  be  managed. 
Why  are  you  so  keen  about  it,  sir?  You 
are  not  briefed  by  anybody  yet,  are  you, 
sir?" 

"  No,  Parkyns.  Honest  injun — I'm  not. 
It's  purely  curiosity.  Look  here,  inspector  1 
Do  you  remember  the  suicide  of  the  actress 
Dolores  Alvarez — the  sister  of  Lady  Mad- 
eley,  you  know — about  twenty  years  ago?" 

"Of  course  I  do.  I  was  in  that  as  well; 
but  I'd  really  forgotten  all  about  it." 

"  I  was  in  that  case  too,  Parkyns.  I  had 
a  watching  brief  at  the  inquest  from  Lord 
Madeley's  solicitor,  and  ever  since  then 
that  case  has  stuck  in  my  mind,  because  I 
never  could  see  why  she  committed  suicide, 
and  I  want  to  know  why.  I  don't  know 
whether  you  have  noticed,  now;  but  in  this 
case  to-day,  saving  locale,  you  get  every 
single  detail  of  that  other  case  duplicated 
[87] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

in  this  one.  Of  course,  coincidences  do  oc- 
cur in  the  world.  I  don't  suppose  or  sug- 
gest there  is  any  connection  between  the 
two;  but  the  details  are  so  alike,  that  if  this 
one  can  be  explained  it  may  give  me  a  hint 
I  can  build  on,  and  so  find  an  explanation 
of  the  other." 

"  I  see  what  you  mean,  sir.  Can  you 
come  along  now,  at  once?" 

"  Yes,  if  that  will  suit  you :  any  time  you 
like." 

"  We'd  better  go  at  once,  as  they  will  be 
removing  the  body  to  the  mortuary  in  an 
hour  or  two." 

Together  the  two  men  walked  to  the 
Charing  Cross  Hotel,  and  Parkyns  led 
the  way  to  the  bedroom,  outside  of  which 
a  constable  was  stationed. 

"Has  anyone  been  in  since  I  left?" 

11  No,  sir.  The  door  hasn't  been  opened," 
answered  the  policeman. 

"Well,  then,  Mr.  Tempest,  you'll  find 
[88] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 


everything  exactly  as  I  left  it,  and  I  left  it 
exactly  as  I  found  it,  except  that  we  got  a 
sheet  to  cover  the  body  with.  The  hotel 
people  say  nothing  was  touched  after  the 
body  was  found  before  I  got  here,  and  they 
sent  for  me  at  once.  Just  as  I  arrived,  the 
doctor  came,  and  he  just  made  certain  that 
life  was  extinct,  and  told  me  to  send  the 
glass  and  the  bottle  to  the  analyst,  and  get 
the  body  removed  to  the  mortuary,  and  I 
went  away  to  make  arrangements.  The 
people  here  are  positive  she  was  not  stay- 
ing as  a  guest  in  the  hotel,  and  none  of 
them  recognise  the  lady.  Now,  Mr.  Tem- 
pest, you  know  as  much  as  I  do.  jWould 
you  like  to  look  at  the  body,  sir?  " 

"  Yes,  I  want  to." 

The  inspector  turned  down  the  sheet, 
and  Tempest  stared  in  astonishment.  Line 
for  line,  feature  for  feature,  the  face  was 
that  of  Dolores  Alvarez,  as  he  remembered 
seeing  her.  The  little  smile  upon  the  lips, 
[89] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  long  dark  eyelashes  resting  upon  the 
cheek,  the  profusion  of  long  black  hair  ly- 
ing loose  upon  the  pillow,  the  same  deli- 
cately aristocratic  features  were  here 
again,  exactly  reproduced.  Were  it  not 
that  for  twenty  years  the  one  woman  had 
been  dead,  and  lying  buried  in  her  grave, 
Tempest  would  have  sworn  it  was  the  same 
body  he  had  seen  once  before,  under  cir- 
cumstances so  similar.  The  likeness  and 
identity  were  uncanny,  and  the  barrister 
knew  it  was  no  freak  of  his  imagination, 
for  was  not  the  face  of  Dolores  hanging 
over  his  mantelshelf,  where  he  had  looked 
at  it  that  morning? 

"What's  the  matter,  sir?" 

"  Parkyns,  you  say  you  were  in  the  Alva- 
rez case?" 

"I  was,  sir;  but,  as  I  told  you,  I'd  for- 
gotten it." 

"  And    you    haven't    noticed    the    like- 
ness?" 

[90] 


Line  for  line,  feature  for  feature,  the  face  was  that 
of  Dolores  Alvarez" 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  I  never  saw  the  body  of  Miss  Alva- 
rez." 

"  Well,  I  did  see  her,  and  I  remember  her 
face.  I've  got  a  miniature  of  her  hanging 
in  my  chambers,  so  I  know  it  well.  Now, 
you  can  take  it  from  me,  inspector,  that  the 
two  faces  are  so  similar  that  they  might  be 
the  same  woman.  If  we  didn't  know  the 
one  was  dead,  and  had  been  buried  twenty 
years  ago,  I  would  have  taken  my  oath  they 
were  the  same.  The  likeness  is  as  strong 
as  that.  I  never  saw  such  a  likeness  in  my 
life.  Talk  about  doubles,  it's  an  absolute 
reincarnation." 

The  inspector  was  silent  as  Tempest, 
leaning  on  the  foot  of  the  bed,  gazed  fas- 
cinated at  the  face  of  the  dead  woman. 

"  How  are  you  going  to  identify  her? 
You'll  have  to  try." 

"  I'm  going  to  have  the  body  photo- 
graphed here,  before  it  is  moved,  and  then 
we  shall  take  a  cast  of  the  face,  and  thor- 

[91] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

oughly  examine  the  body.  That's  all  that 
we  can  do,  as  far  as  I  can  see.  We  shall 
examine  the  teeth,  and  I  think  we  shall  try 
and  get  finger-prints;  but  she  hardly  looks 
as  if  her  finger-prints  are  likely  to  be  in  our 
collection." 

"  No.  There's  nothing  of  the  criminal 
in  that  face.     Was  she  married?" 

"The  doctor  says  not,  and  there  is  no 
mark  of  any  wedding-ring." 

"What  colour  are  her  eyes?" 

"  Very  dark  blue." 

"Ah,  that's  funny  again!  So  were  the 
eyes  of  Miss  Alvarez,  and  she  was  a  Span- 
iard.    When's  the  inquest?" 

"To-morrow,  at  eleven." 

"  I  shall  be  there.  What's  the  poi- 
son?" 

"  Prussic  acid,  so  the  doctor  says.  He 
said  he  could  plainly  smell  it  in  her  mouth 
when  he  came." 

Tempest  moved  to  the  side  of  the  bed 
[93] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  leant  over  the  face.    The  faint  odour 
of  almonds  was  still  perceptible. 

"Yes,  I  can  smell  it  myself.  There 
won't  be  much  mystery  about  the  manner 
of  death." 

Tempest  stayed  until  the  body  was  re- 
moved, and  wondered  at  the  reverence 
with  which  it  was  handled  by  men  who 
must  have  long  been  accustomed  to  death 
and  callous  at  its  manifestations,  and  then, 
saying  good  night  to  Parkyns,  he  left.  As 
he  did  so  he  turned  back.  "  I  say,  Par- 
kyns, tell  Yardley  about  it,  and  send  word 
I'd  particularly  like  him  to  come  to  the  in- 
quest, if  he  can  manage  it,  as  I  think  it  will 
be  an  interesting  case.  There's  more  here 
than  there  looks  at  first  sight." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that,  sir?" 
"  Ah,  I'd  like  to  think  things  over  a  bit." 
"  Shall  you  give  evidence  or  anything  to- 
morrow, Mr.  Tempest?" 

"Oh,  Lord,  no!    You  needn't  be  afraid 

[93] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

of  me  getting  a  rise  out  of  any  of  your  peo- 
ple. J'm  not  going  to  do  that.  To  be 
perfectly  frank,  Parkyns,  I  don't  approve 
altogether  of  coroner's  inquests.  They 
serve  a  useful  purpose  in  deciding  whether 
a  death  is  a  natural  one  or  not.  But  I 
think  they  ought  to  stop  there.  They  must 
hamper  your  people  fearfully,  if  it  is  a  case 
that  has  to  come  to  you.  I  myself  don't 
believe  in  making  things  public  till  you 
can  go  straight  and  arrest  your  man.  The 
coroner's  inquests  only  too  often  warn  him 
to  keep  away." 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,  sir.  But  still 
it's  the  law,  and  we  have  to  put  up  with 
it." 

"Yes,  I  know.  But  as  it  is  the  law,  get 
'em  over,  and  a  verdict  given  as  quickly  as 
possible,  to  leave  your  crowd  with  free 
hands.    That's  what  I  think." 

The  inquest  took  place  in  due  course  the 
following  day.  The  proceedings  were 
[94] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

brief  and  formal.  The  body  had  been 
identified  in  the  meantime  as  that  of  Miss 
Evangeline  Stableford,  a  well-known  pro- 
vincial actress;  and  after  evidence  of  iden- 
tity and  of  the  finding  of  the  body,  the 
medical  evidence  which  followed  left  no 
room  for  any  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  death. 
The  verdict  of  the  jury  was  unanimous 
and  immediate:  "Suicide  by  poisoning 
with  prussic  acid  during  temporary  insan- 
ity," in  spite  of  the  remarks  in  the  summing 
up  of  the  coroner,  that  they  had  no  evidence 
before  them  of  the  state  of  mind  of  the 
deceased.  But  then  a  coroner's  jury  so 
often  takes  the  bit  in  their  teeth.  The  girl 
was  too  beautiful  to  be  buried  with  a  stake 
driven  through  her  body,  which  many 
people  still  believe  is  even  yet  the  legal 
consequence  of  a  bare  verdict  of  suicide. 

The  public  and  the  jury  drifted  out  of 
the  room;  and  the  coroner,  as  he  left,  no- 
ticing the  barrister,  said: 

[95} 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Were  you  briefed  here  to-day,  Mr. 
Tempest?" 

"No — just  curiosity;  like  the  'busman 
who  takes  his  holiday  by  riding  on  another 
man's  'bus." 

"Well,  from  what  one  hears,  I  should 
have  thought  you  were  too  busy  to  bother 
about  us." 

The  barrister  laughed.  "The  courts 
aren't  sitting." 

"  Of  course  not.  I'd  forgotten.  In- 
quests, you  know,  aren't  postponed  over 
vacations.     Good  morning." 

Tempest  joined  Yardley  and  Parkyns  on 
the  pavement  outside. 

"Well,  Mr.  Tempest,  what  do  you  think 
of  it  all?"  said  the  inspector. 

"  Parkyns,  you've  known  me  a  good 
many  years  now.  It  must  be  nearly  twenty 
years  since  I  first  cross-examined  you  at 
the  Old  Bailey." 

"Yes,  it  must  be  quite  that  long." 

[96] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  And  we've  been  interested  together  or 
against  each  other  in  the  same  cases  a  good 
many  times  since  then,  haven't  we?  " 

"  We  have,  sir." 

"  Well,  have  you  ever  known  me  to  make 
a  positive  statement  without  being  fairly 
certain  of  it?" 

"  I  don't  call  one  to  mind." 

"  And  when  I  do  make  a  positive  state- 
ment, I'm  not  often  wrong.  Now  am  I, 
inspector?" 

"  I've  never  known  you  wrong  yet,  sir." 

"Oh,  I  don't  say  as  much  as  that,  Par- 
kyns;  but  I'm  going  to  make  a  definite 
assertion  now,  and  I  think  you  can  depend 
upon  it." 

The  two  detectives  listened  with  rapt 
attention  as  the  barrister  continued. 

"That  woman  no  more  committed  sui- 
cide than  I've  done.  It  isn't  suicide  at  all. 
She  was  murdered." 

"  Why  do  you  think  so?  " 
[97] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Just  think,  Parkins.  The  body  is  found 
nude." 

"Quite  so,  sir;  but  so  was  Miss  Alvarez, 
and  you've  never  said  that  case  wasn't 
suicide " 

"  I  agree,  Parkyns,  I  never  have  said  so; 
but  when  the  body  of  Miss  Alvarez  was 
found  in  the  bedroom  of  her  flat,  her 
clothes  were  there  in  the  room.  Now,  it's 
never  dawned  on  you,  or  on  the  coroner  or 
on  the  jury,  that  Miss  Stableford's  clothes 
were  not  in  the  bedroom  or  in  the  hotel. 
There  was  nothing  whatever  in  the  room 
in  the  way  of  personal  belongings;  there 
was  not  even  a  hairpin,  and  yet  her  hair 
was  undone  and  loose  on  the  pillow.  Now, 
a  decent  respectable  woman,  as  we  know 
Miss  Stableford  was,  doesn't  walk  about 
the  corridors  of  a  decent  respectable  hotel 
as  this  is,  in  broad  daylight,  with  even  her 
hair  undone.  And  she  certainly  doesn't 
walk  about  the  corridors  without  her 
[98] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

clothes    on.      I    think    that's    sound  argu- 
ment." 

"  Then,"  said  Yardley,  "  do  you  think 
she  was  murdered  somewhere  else  and 
taken  there  afterwards?" 

"No,  not  in  the  least.  You  can't  carry 
a  dead  body  into  a  hotel  without  it  being 
noticed,  nor  dare  anyone  risk  carrying  a 
nude  dead  body  along  the  corridor  from 
one  room  to  another.  No,  the  girl  was 
murdered  in  the  room  where  her  body  was 
found,  and  only  an  hour  or  two  before  she 
was  found,  and  her  clothes,  belongings  and 
hairpins  were  taken  away  afterwards." 

"Why?"  asked  Yardley. 

"Ah!  now  we  get  to  speculation;  but  I 
think  it  was  an  attempt  to  hide  her  identity. 
There  you  have  your  clue,  Parkyns.  At 
any  rate,  it's  the  only  clue  I  see  at  the 
moment,  and  it's  one  well  worth  your 
while  to  follow  up." 

"  But  in  what  way  is  it  a  Clue?  " 
[  99  ], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  It's  a  clue,  because  whoever  committed 
that  murder — and  mind  you  it  was  mur- 
der, I've  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  about 
that — whoever  committed  that  murder 
took  pains  that  the  body  should  not  be 
identified.  Therefore,  they  feared  that 
identification  might  throw  suspicion  in 
their  direction.  You  must  first  make  cer- 
tain that  the  body  is  that  of  Miss  Stable- 
ford.  You  say  there  were  two  teeth 
stopped  with  gold  in  the  upper  jaw.  Ad- 
vertise for  her  dentist,  and  see  if  you  can 
identify  that  stopping.  If  you  do  that, 
then  trace  back  the  history  of  Miss  Stable- 
ford  till  you  find  someone  likely  to  have 
desired  her  death;  someone  upon  whom 
the  mere  proof  of  identity  can  throw  sus- 
picion." 

The  barrister  nodded  to  the  two  detec- 
tives and  went  his  way. 

They   watched    him    disappear    in    the 

crowd,  and  as  they  parted  Parkyns  said: 
[100] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Jove!  I  wish  we'd  got  him  in  the 
force." 

"Yes.  He'd  be  a  jewel  for  you,  wouldn't 
he?  I  often  wonder  how  it  is  he  always 
puts  his  finger  on  the  spot,  and  generally  a 
spot  nobody  else  ever  thought  of." 

"Yes,  it's  funny.  I've  no  doubt  what- 
ever he  is  right,  and  that  it's  a  case  of 
murder.  Why  didn't  you  and  I  think  of 
that?  Honour  bright,  I'd  have  cheerfully 
taken  the  jury's  verdict  if  it  hadn't  been 
for  what  he  said." 

"  So  should  I,"  answered  Yardley. 
"  Parkyns,"  he  continued,  "  if  the  girl  were 
murdered,  somebody  did  it.   Who  was  it?  " 

"  Yes,  that's  just  the  little  detail  you  and 
I  have  got  to  try  to  find  out." 

Tempest  left  town  to  pay  his  postponed 
visit.  With  the  verdict  of  suicide  the  pub- 
lic rested  content;  and  after  the  natural 
publicity  of  the  funeral,  the  public  interest 
in  the  case  quickly  died  down.  This  was 
[  101 1 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

what  Yardley  and  Parkyns  desired,  and 
quietly  and  unostentatiously  they  then  be- 
gan to  prosecute  their  inquiries.  The  stage 
history  of  Miss  Stableford  was  general 
knowledge  in  the  profession,  and  it  was  a 
simple  matter  to  get  into  touch  with  Lady 
Stableford  and  learn  all  she  knew  of  the 
girl's  life.  She  could  tell  them,  too,  of  the 
stopped  teeth,  and  with  that  all  doubt  as 
to  the  identification  ended.  Putting  the 
accounts  together  it  was  evident  that  they 
had  the  complete  story,  and  that  with  an 
accuracy  of  full  detail  amply  sufficient  to 
demonstrate  that  ostensibly  there  was 
nothing  in  the  life  of  Evangeline  Stable- 
ford which  they  could  legitimately  regard 
as  a  starting  point  for  an  investigation  with 
any  hope  of  this  resulting  in  an  explanation 
of  the  mystery.  The  thing  was  an  absolute 
blank.  Their  inquiries  showed  beyond 
doubt  that  Miss  Stableford  was  a  young  pro- 
vincial actress  of  some  talent  and  of  great 
[102] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

promise,  leading  an  exemplary  life,  and 
possessed  of  such  means  that  inducement  to 
the  contrary  on  that  score  was  in  her  case 
wholly  lacking.  Lady  Stableford,  bitterly 
distressed  at  the  fate  which  had  overtaken 
one  who  to  all  intents  and  purposes  was  her 
own  daughter,  had  placed  ample  funds  at 
Yardley's  disposal,  in  the  hope  of  finding  a 
clue  to  the  mystery,  and  Yardley  and  Par- 
kyns  prosecuted  their  research  with  zeal 
and  vigor.     But  all  to  no  purpose. 

With  the  end  of  the  vacation,  Tempest 
returned  to  town,  and  Yardley  lost  no  time 
in  making  him  aware  of  the  result  of  their 
investigations. 

Tempest,  sitting  in  his  chambers,  listened 
attentively  to  what  the  other  men  told  him, 
and  frankly  confessed  that  he  was  abso- 
lutely puzzled.  But  in  his  own  mind  he 
felt  that  the  explanation  lay  in  the  mystery 
surrounding  the  girl's  birth  and  in  the  great 
likeness  which  existed  between  Evangeline 

[103] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Stableford  and  Dolores  Alvarez.  He  went 
to  Somerset  House,  and,  knowing  the  date 
of  the  birth  of  Miss  Stableford,  he  hunted 
for  the  certificate.  No  child  named  Al- 
varez had  been  born  in  that  year.  That 
did  not  surprise  him.  He  even  went  to  the 
trouble  of  getting  copies  of  every  certifi- 
cate of  the  births  of  an  illegitimate  child 
within  a  month  on  either  side  of  the  day  on 
which  a  child  apparently  evidently  less  than 
ten  days  old  had  been  found  by  Lady 
Stableford  on  the  couch  in  her  drawing- 
room.  Tempest  knew  that  from  the  child's 
clothes  it  was  evident  that  the  mother  must 
have  been  financially  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances at  the  time,  and  so  was  able 
to  eliminate  the  bulk  of  the  children  of 
whose  births  he  had  certificates,  by  reason 
of  the  places  of  birth.  The  remainder 
Yardley  investigated  one  by  one.  It  was 
a  long  and  unpleasant  task,  but  in  the  end 
it  had  been  possible  in  every  case  to  trace 
[104] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

each  child — for  a  period  sufficiently  pro- 
longed to  establish  it  as  quite  impossible 
that  Miss  Stableford  could  be  one  of  these 
children.  But  the  likeness  between  the 
two  women  haunted  Tempest,  and  he 
wondered  whether  the  real  explanation 
was  that  Evangeline  Stableford  was  the 
child  of  Dolores  Alvarez.  But  an  inter- 
view with  the  surgeon  who  had  made  the 
post-mortem  examination,  and  a  reference 
by  the  latter  to  his  case  book,  left  no  doubt 
of  the  fact  that  Miss  Alvarez  had  never 
had  a  child.  Utterly  puzzled,  Tempest 
turned  to  the  only  remaining  possibility 
that  Miss  Stableford  might  be  the  daughter 
of  Lady  Madeley;  but  a  few  careful  in- 
quiries showed  that  Lord  and  Lady  Made- 
ley  had  been  married  some  days  before 
Lady  Stableford  had  found  the  child.  By 
the  fashionable  intelligence  in  different 
papers,  and  by  the  succession  of  hotel  regis- 
ters, Tempest  was  able  to  trace  the  move- 

[105] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

ments  of  the  married  pair  as  day  by  day 
in  easy  stages  they  journeyed  overland  to 
Southern  Italy.  The  last  supposition, 
therefore,  was  an  absolute  impossibility, 
and  Tempest  finally  could  see  no  other 
conclusion  than  that  the  amazing  likeness 
was  after  all  only  coincidence. 

So  that  they  had  nothing  to  go  upon  save 
the  details  of  the  tragedy.  These  were 
strangely  destitute  of  any  enlightening  clue. 

Late  one  evening,  Yardley  and  Parkyns 
called  at  Tempest's  chambers  in  order  to 
keep  an  appointment  for  which  Parkyns 
had  asked. 

"Well,  what  is  it?"  asked  the  barrister. 

"Mr.  Tempest,  I'm  at  my  wits'  end 
about  the  murder  of  Miss  Stableford.  I've 
done  everything  I  can  think  of,  so  has  Yard- 
ley.  We  haven't  found  out  a  thing,  and 
the  mystery  is  at  the  precise  point  it  was 
when  we  started.  I've  come  to  say  that 
unless  you  can  suggest  anything,  I'm  afraid 
[106] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

I  must  give  it  up.  You  see,  sir,  this  isn't 
the  only  thing  I  have  to  attend  to.  Have 
you  thought  of  anything,  sir?" 

"Yes,  Parkyns,  many  things,  and  I've 
done  a  little  bit  of  inquiry  myself;  but  I 
must  say  all  to  no  purpose,  I'm  afraid." 

"  I  don't  like  to  give  it  up,  if  you  think 
there  is  anything  more  to  be  done.  Are 
you  going  to  give  it  up,  sir?  Because  if 
you  do,  there  isn't  much  use  of  our  going 
on." 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  quite  fair  to  me  to  say  that, 
inspector.  I'm  only  an  amateur.  My  in- 
terest in  it  isn't  professional." 

"What  is  your  interest  then,  Mr.  Tem- 
pest?" 

The  barrister  turned  and  took  from  its 
nail  above  the  mantelpiece,  in  front  of 
which  he  was  standing,  a  miniature,  which 
he  passed  to  the  detective. 

"That's  the  explanation  of  my  interest, 
inspector." 

[  107  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Where  did  you  get  this  from,  sir?  Did 
Lady  Stableford  give  it  to  you?" 

"  No.    Who  do  you  think  it  is? " 

"  Well,  it's  a  portrait  of  Miss  Stableford, 
isn't  it." 

"  No,  not  at  all.  It's  a  portrait  of  Miss 
Alvarez.  It's  been  hanging  on  that  nail 
for  twenty  years.  It's  the  miniature  I  told 
you  of.  Your  mistake  proves  how  great 
the  likeness  is.  Now,  do  you  understand 
how  my  curiosity  has  been  provoked?" 

"  I  think  I  do.,  sir." 

"  So  far  so  good.  Now,  I've  not  given 
it  up  yet.  There  are  two  little  details  that 
might  pay  for  investigation.  It's  no  good 
trying  to  trace  the  prussic  acid,  but  you've 
got  the  champagne  bottle.  You  might  try 
and  trace  that,  and  find  out  where  that  was 
bought  and  by  whom.  It's  labelled  Veuve 
Cliquot  '93,  but  I  remember  the  cork. 
You've  got  it  still,  I  suppose?" 

"Oh,  yes,  sir." 

[108] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Last  night  I  ordered  a  bottle  of  Cliquot 
'93  at  the  club,  and  I  saw  the  cork  of  that. 
It's  got  a  totally  different  brand  on  it. 
Here  it  is."  And  the  barrister  passed  the 
cork  to  the  two  detectives. 

"  But  what  do  you  make  of  that,  sir?  " 

"  Simply  this — that  one  bottle  or  other 
is  spurious.  It's  not  very  likely  the  club 
one  is  wrong,  but  still  find  out  which  is 
spurious;  and  if  it's  the  one  found  in  the 
hotel — you  know  the  hotel  people  say  they 
didn't  sell  that  bottle — then  you  must  hunt 
round  and  find  out  where  the  spurious  stuff 
is  being  made  and  sold.  Then  there's  an- 
other thing.  The  bedrooms  at  the  hotel 
all  have  self-closing  doors,  locking  with 
spring  latches.  They  need  the  right  key 
to  open  the  doors." 

"  Quite  so." 

"Well,  from  the  inquiries  you  made  at 
the  time  it  was  perfectly  evident  that  no 
one  had  had  the  key  of  that  bedroom,  for 

[109] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  key  had  not  left  the  office  for  more  than 
a  week.  The  body  had  not  been  dead 
more  than  a  few  hours  even  when  I  saw  it. 
The  scent  of  prussic  acid  will  disappear 
under  twenty-four  hours.  Now,  somebody 
entered  that  bedroom  with  a  key.  There 
are  two  master  keys  to  find.  One  will  open 
all  doors  on  that  corridor.  That  is  in  the 
possession  of  the  head  chambermaid,  who 
has  charge  of  that  corridor.  The  other, 
which  will  open  all  doors  in  the  annexe,  the 
manager  has.  It  is  locked  in  his  safe,  and 
it  is  quite  impossible  that  that  one  can  have 
been  used." 

"Then  that  proves  the  chambermaid's 
key  was  used?" 

"It  looks  like  it;  but  in  that  case  the 
chambermaid  herself  used  it,  for  if  you 
remember  in  her  evidence  at  the  inquest 
she  said  the  key  which  she  wore  on  the 
chain  attached  to  her  belt  had  never 
been  out  of  her  possession  all  day.  She 
[  HO  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

volunteered  that  evidence  which  is  so 
damning  that  she  would  never  have  said  it 
except  on  the  assumption  of  its  entire  truth 
and  her  absolute  innocence  when  she  easily 
might  have  overlooked  the  conclusion  it 
pointed  to.  So  I  don't  think  the  chamber- 
maid's key  was  used." 

"  Then  there  must  be  another  key?  " 
"Wait  a  bit,  Yardley.  Suppose  that 
murder  was  premeditated?  The  murderer 
would  not  have  done  it  without  making 
arrangements,  and  thinking  out  his  plans 
and  seeing  that  they  were  possible.  You 
can't  walk  blindly  into  an  hotel  and  make 
certain  that  things  will  fall  out  so  abso- 
lutely as  you  require  them  to,  that  you  can 
let  your  safety  and  escape  after  committing 
a  murder  depend  upon  such  a  coincidence. 
The  thing  isn't  reasonable.  The  chamber- 
maid thinks  that  murder  must  have  been 
committed  between  two  and  three  in  the 
afternoon,  because  that  is  the  only  time 
[ill] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

during  the  day  when  there  is  no  one 
actually  on  duty  in  the  corridor.  In  the 
morning  they  are  attending  to  the  rooms, 
and  they  have  to  stay  about  till  two  o'clock 
to  answer  the  bells  of  those  people  who 
come  to  their  rooms  to  wash  or  change  for 
lunch.  About  three  o'clock  people  come 
to  their  rooms  to  dress  to  go  out  calling, 
then  others  change  for  tea,  and  again  others 
change  for  dinner,  and  from  two  to  three 
is  the  only  slack  time  during  the  day." 

"  How  do  you  know  all  this,  Mr.  Tem- 
pest?" put  in  the  inspector. 

The  barrister  laughed.  "  I  had  a  long 
and  interesting  interview  with  that  cham- 
bermaid two  days  ago." 

"Then  where  was  she  during  that  time 
— from  two  to  three  on  the  day  of  the 
murder?" 

"Yardley,  I'll  make  a  real  detective  of 
you  some  day;  you're  getting  quite  promis- 
ing in  the  way  you  reason  out  things. 
[112] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Well,  I'll  tell  you.  She  was  having  her 
dinner,  and  had  got  the  key  with  her.  Now 
she  says  it  is  a  regular  thing  that  all  the 
maids  are  at  their  dinner  between  two  and 
three.  The  murderer  probably  knew  that, 
and  if  so  there  you  get  premeditation  again. 
The  most  likely  way  for  that  to  be  known 
would  be  for  the  murderer  to  have  himself 
stayed  in  the  hotel  and  found  it  out." 
"But  how  could  he  get  the  key?" 
"  That's  what  I've  been  wondering,  Yard- 
ley,  and  I  can  suggest  one  way.  Suppose 
the  man  goes  and  stays  in  the  hotel  in  that 
very  room,  and  whilst  the  room  is  in  his 
occupation,  and  the  key  legitimately  in  his 
possession,  suppose  he  had  a  duplicate 
made  of  it?  Then  he  can  keep  and  use 
that  duplicate  when  he  likes." 

"  But  suppose  all  you  say  be  true,  Tem- 
pest. The  girl  was  not  staying  in  the  hotel. 
How  in  the  name  of  fortune  could  he  lure 
a  respectable  girl  up  to  his  bedroom?" 

[113] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  My  dear  Yardley,  how  was  the  girl  to 
know  it  was  his  bedroom?  There  are 
always  suites  of  rooms  in  a  hotel.  Take  it, 
for  example,  that  the  man  was  an  impre- 
sario, or  said  he  was,  and,  deluding  her  into 
the  idea  that  he  wished  to  talk  business,  in- 
vited her  to  go  to  his  sitting-room.  The 
girl  would  go  fast  enough." 

"  Would  she  stay  when  she  got  there  and 
found  it  was  a  bedroom?" 

"  H'm — never  thought  of  that.  You've 
caught  me  out  there,  Yardley.  But — but 
— wait — wait  a  moment;"  and  the  barrister 
picked  up  another  cigarette  and  lighted  it, 
and  the  two  men  watched  him  as  he  began 
unconsciously  to  pace  up  and  down  the 
room.  Yardley  knew  the  trick  and  waited 
in  silence. 

"Yardley,   you've   brought   it  one   step 

nearer.     It  must  have  been  a  woman  who 

murdered  the  girl.     Any  story  would  be 

sufficient  excuse  for  her  going  to  a  woman's 

[114] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

bedroom,  and  for  her  staying  there  after 
she  got  into  the  room.  Now  there  is  an- 
other point,  Yardley.  All  the  keys  have 
stamped  on  them  the  name  of  the  hotel  and 
the  number.  No  shop  would  deliberately 
duplicate  such  a  key.  They  would  know 
it  could  not  be  wanted  for  any  legitimate 
purpose  A  model  must  have  been  taken  in 
wax  and  the  key  made  from  that.  I  wish 
I  had  thought  of  that  before.  Still,  it  may 
not  be  too  late.  The  room  had  been  empty 
for  a  week  before  the  body  was  found 
there.  The  chambermaid  told  me  nobody 
had  been  put  in  it  since.  Yardley,  go  to 
the  Charing  Cross  Hotel  at  once,  ask  to 
see  that  key,  and  examine  it  carefully,  and 
see  if  there  is  any  sign  of  wax  on  it.  If 
there  is  you  will  know  I  am  right,  and  it 
will  prove  something  else  besides." 

"What  else  will  it  prove?" 

"Just  this,  that  the  previous  occupant  of 
the  room  is  the  guilty  person,  for  if  anyone 
[  H5  1 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

has  used  the  key  in  between  there  will 
be  no  wax  on  it.  At  least  the  odds  are  a 
hundred  to  one." 

The  two  detectives  took  their  leave  and 
went  straight  to  the  hotel.  It  was  exactly 
as  Tempest  had  anticipated.  There  were 
still  traces  of  wax  in  the  wards  of  the  keys. 
It  was  a  simple  matter  to  ascertain  that  the 
last  occupant  of  the  room  had  been  a  lady 
who  had  given  her  name  as  Mrs.  Garnett. 
A  little  investigation  elicited  the  fact  that 
she  had  complained  of  her  room  being 
very  dark,  and  had,  by  her  own  request, 
been  moved  into  one  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  passage.  She  had  remained  in  the 
hotel  until  after  the  dead  body  had  been 
discovered,  and  had  left,  declaring  vehe- 
mently that  she  would  never  be  able  to  sleep 
after  her  experience.  The  clerk  and  the 
other  hotel  servants  had  no  very  definite 
recollection  of  the  lady,  save  that  she  was 
[116] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

always  dressed  in  black,  and  was  dark  and 
middle-aged. 

As  her  own  room  was  only  just  across 
the  passage  she  could,  of  course,  easily 
make  certain  the  other  room  was  not  occu- 
pied. A  stranger  to  the  hotel  wouldn't 
know  that. 

"  Yes,  it  all  seems  very  simple  now, 
doesn't  it,  Parkyns?" 

"Yardley,  it  makes  us  look  rather  ama- 
teurs. There's  nothing  in  it  all  that  we 
couldn't  have  found  out.  Here  you  and  I 
have  been  working  on  it  for  weeks,  and  we 
draw  everything  quite  blank,  and  that  man 
just  lights  one  of  his  everlasting  cigarettes 
and  walks  up  and  down  his  room  in  front 
of  us  and  gets  the  thing  first  try — talks  it 
out — even  thinks  it  out  before  us." 

"Are  you  sure  of  that,  Parkyns?  It's 
quite  as  likely  he'd  thought  it  all  out  be- 
forehand and  made  inquiries  himself,  and 
[117] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

just  sends  us  to  look  for  what  he  knew  we 
should  find." 

"  He  may  have  begun  it,  but  he'd  never 
have  let  you  trip  him  up  as  to  its  not  being 
a  man  if  he  had  done.  He  made  a  mis- 
take there,  and  Mr.  Tempest  doesn't  par- 
ticularly care  about  doing  that." 

"  No,  I  agree  with  you  on  that  point — 
he  doesn't.  Still,  the  next  move  is  to  find 
Mrs.  Garnett,  and  I'll  tell  you  one  certain 
fact,  Yardley,  about  her.  The  thing  was 
premeditated,  so  you  may  be  quite  certain 
Garnett  is  an  assumed  name,  and  probably 
a  name  assumed  for  the  purpose  of  the 
murder  and  consequently  one  that  carried 
no  clue  in  itself." 

A  few  days  later,  Tempest  and  Parkyns 
dropped  across  each  other  at  the  Old 
Bailey,  and  the  inspector  told  the  barrister 
what  he  had  ascertained. 

"Yes,  I  thought  it  would  turn  out  that 
way.     Now,  you've  got  to  try  to  put  your 

[118] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

hands  on  Mrs.  Garnett,  and  the  only  way  I 
see  of  your  doing  that  is  to  find  out  some 
woman  who  will  answer  and  whose  life 
somehow  touched  that  of  Miss  Stableford. 
It's  a  pretty  little  problem,  inspector. 
Here  I  must  be  off,"  said  the  barrister,  as 
his  clerk  brought  him  word  that  the  judge 
was  summing  up  in  a  case  that  preceded 
one  in  which  he  was  himself  briefed. 


[  H9] 


CHAPTER  V 

FOR  some  time  Yardley  and  Parkyns  de- 
voted themselves  diligently  to  the  search 
for  Mrs.  Garnett,  but  the  effort  proved  like 
seeking  a  needle  in  a  bundle  of  hay.  They 
had  nothing  to  go  upon — no  detail  from 
which  they  could  make  a  start.  The  hotel 
porters  had  not  the  smallest  recollection  of 
the  lady's  departure,  and  could  give  no 
hint  how  she  had  left  the  hotel  nor  what 
might  have  been  her  destination. 

At  length,  Yardley,  confessing  himself 
conquered,  applied  to  Tempest. 

"  I  know  it  isn't  fair  to  come  bothering 
you,"  he  had  said  to  the  barrister;  "  but  the 
thing's  beaten  me.  If  it  were  ordinary 
professional  work  of  mine,  I  should  just 
report  a  failure  and  drop  it.  I  really  don't 
think  it's  any  good  worrying  over  it  any 
more,  and  Parkyns  says  he's  had  enough  of 
[120] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

it  too.  But  you  sent  for  me  to  go  to  the  in- 
quest, and  you  say  you  are  interested,  so  I 
decided  I  would  see  you  again  before  ac- 
tually reporting  to  Lady  Stableford." 

"  I'm  not  sure  I  can  help  you  much.  I'm 
certainly  not  going  to  drop  it  myself,  but 
I  don't  at  present  see  how  I  can  put  you 
much  further  along  the  road  at  present. 
Still,  there's  one  point.  You  remember 
what  I  suggested  as  the  reason  Miss  Sta- 
bleford's  body  was  stripped?" 

"  You  said  it  was  an  attempt  to  hide  her 
identity;  and  that  if  we  could  find  any  per- 
son upon  whom  suspicion  attached,  merely 
because  the  body  was  that  of  Miss  Stable- 
ford,  that  we  should  then  have  a  clue. 
That  was  what  you  said,  wasn't  it?  " 

"Yes,  exactly.  But  you  couldn't  find 
any  such  person  in  relation  to  Miss  Stable- 
ford?" 

"No,  wc  couldn't." 

"Well,  here's  a  suggestion.     I  tell  you 

[121] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

frankly,  I  don't  think  it  could  be  substan- 
tiated in  court.  I  don't  give  it  to  you  as 
a  certain  deduction — it's  only  a  suggestion. 
The  only  mystery  you  can  learn  of  in  con- 
nection with  Miss  Stableford  is  the  mys- 
tery of  her  birth." 

"  Yes,  that  is  so." 

"Well,  now,  it's  pretty  certain  that  the 
murderer  of  Miss  Stableford  was  a  woman 
* — this  Mrs.  Garnett." 

"Granted.    What  next?" 

The  barrister  paused.  "  How  old  was 
Mrs.  Garnett?  The  hotel  people  say  mid- 
dle-aged, forty  to  forty-five." 

"Old  enough  to  be  Miss  Stableford's 
mother?" 

"  Yes,  the  girl  was  a  bit  short  of  twenty- 
one." 

"Well,  Yardley,  suppose  you've  got  it 
now?" 

"What  on  earth  do  you  mean?" 

"  Suppose    Mrs.     Garnett    were    Miss 

[122] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Stableford's  mother,  she  would  naturally 
be  concerned  in  the  mystery  of  the  girl's 
birth?  Yardley,  I  tell  you,  if  you  can  find 
out  who  was  that  girl's  mother,  you'll  be  a 
big  step  onwards  towards  finding  out  the 
clue  to  this  mystery.  I  am  fairly  certain 
you  will  know  then  who  Mrs.  Garnett  is." 

"Whatever  made  you  think  of  that, 
Tempest?  " 

The  barrister  made  no  answer  as  he 
walked  to  the  table,  picked  up  a  cigarette 
and  lighted  it.  Apparently  he  had  dis- 
missed the  subject  from  his  mind.  His 
next  question  had  no  relation  to  it. 

"  Have  you  done  anything  in  the  Rel- 
lingham  murder  case,  Yardley?" 

"  How  did  you  know  I  was  working  on 
it?" 

"  Oh,  I  advised  them  to  retain  you." 

"Then  you're  in  that  as  well,  are  you, 
Tempest?  " 

"  It  all  depends  what  you  mean  by  '  in ' 

[123] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

it.     I'm  not  hunting  for  the  murderer,  if 
that's  what  you  mean." 

"  But  you  know  all  about  it?  " 

"I  do.  What  did  they  tell  you,  Yard- 
ley?  You  can  speak  frankly,  for  I  know 
all  there  is  to  be  known  about  it,  and  I'm 
curious  to  know  how  much  they  disclosed 
to  you." 

"  I  think  they  told  me  all  they  knew 
themselves." 

"About  the  secret  trust?" 

"Oh,  yes,  they  told  me  that;"  and  Yard- 
ley  briefly  recapitulated  the  details  Tem- 
pest already  knew. 

"  I'm  glad  they  told  you,  Yardley,  else 
I  should  have  had  to  hold  my  tongue. 
You've  seen  the  letter  Sir  John  wrote?" 

"  I've  got  a  copy,"  and  the  detective  pro- 
duced it  from  his  letter-case.  "  Can  you 
give  me  any  tips  about  that?  I  want  some 
badly,  though  I'm  not  at  the  end  of  my 
tether  with  that  case  yet." 
[  124  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Well,  Yardley,  there's  one  very  curi- 
ous sentence.  Sir  John  says  that  if  the 
eventuality  the  trust  is  to  provide  for 
doesn't  turn  up  in  one  hundred  years  from 
the  1 8th  of  August,  1881,  it  never  will. 
What  do  you  make  of  that?" 

"  If  you  want  to  know  my  candid  opin- 
ion, I  think  it's  all  damned  rot!  I  believe 
Sir  John  was  insane,  and  I've  been  inter- 
viewing his  doctors.  I  can't  say  they  wel- 
come the  suggestion,  but  that's  what  I 
think.  Look  here,  Tempest,  how  can  you 
call  such  a  trust  sane?  Did  you  ever  hear 
of  one  like  it  before?  It  just  seems  wildly 
preposterous  to  me.  I  think  the  fact  that 
he  could  create  such  a  trust — the  will's  all 
in  his  own  handwriting,  so  he  couldn't 
have  had  advice — is  just  the  best  proof  you 
could  want  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  his 
insanity." 

"Yardley,  I'm  a  lawyer — you  aren't. 
You  can  take  it  from  me — even  if  it  were 

[125] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

not  a  judgment  in  court — that  the  trust  is 
legal,  and  I  think  it  is  perfectly  sane.  The 
difficulty  is  this.  Sir  John  had  to  deal 
with  a  secret,  and  he  did  his  best  to  make 
that  secret  sacred.  But  Sir  John  knew 
nothing  apparently  about  deduction,  for 
it's  possible  to  get  a  good  deal  of  explana- 
tion out  of  the  thing  as  it  stands.  All  I  am 
doubtful  about  is  how  far  one  is  justified  in 
trying  to  find  any  explanation  at  all.  You 
see,  he  leaves  things  to  his  partners,  trust- 
ing blindly  in  their  honour  and  integrity, 
and  they  accept  the  matter  as  sacred.  I 
don't  blame  them.  It's  what  they  ought  to 
do.  They  retain  me  in  one  way  and  you 
in  another,  and  they  disclose  to  us  what  they 
decline  to  make  public.  You  see,  you  and 
I  in  all  decency — paid  by  them,  working 
in  their  interests — must  adopt  their  stand- 
point. If  they  are  not  justified  in  ferret- 
ting,  neither  are  we." 
"  Well,  Tempest,  your  morality  is  chalks 

[126] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

above  mine;  but  take  it  as  you  say,  I  don't 
see  what  you  are  driving  at." 

"  I'm  simply  trying  to  decide  what  is  the 
point  at  which  we  must  stop;  but  I  think 
we  are  justified  in  going  this  far.  It  seems 
to  me  pretty  certain  Sir  John  was  consid- 
ering the  honour  or  the  reputation  of  some 
third  party." 

"That's  so.  I'll  admit  that,  if  you  bar 
insanity,  I  think  the  same." 

"Very  well;  that's  one  step.  Now,  he 
speaks  of  an  interval  of  one  hundred  years. 
What  can  you  connect  one  hundred  years 
with?" 

"  It's  a  blooming  century,  if  that's  any 
help." 

"  It  isn't,  Yardley.  To  be  perfectly  can- 
did, I  have  racked  my  brains  for  days  over 
it,  and  I  can  think  of  nothing  in  which  one 
hundred  years  from  any  given  date  is  an 
integral  and  essential  part  of  any  fact,  idea, 
or  supposition." 

[  W  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Well,  Tempest,  if  you  can't  think  of 
anything,  I'm  willing  to  bet  there  is  noth- 
ing." 

"  I  distrust  your  premise,  but  I  agree 
with  your  conclusion,  Yardley.  What  I 
believe  is  that  it  is  an  outside  interval 
which  is  sufficient  for  one  to  be  certain  it 
covers  some  other  known  but  uncertain  in- 
terval. Now,  what  does  a  hundred  years 
cover?  " 

"As  much  as  charity.  I've  no  doubt 
you've  settled  it  to  your  own  satisfaction. 
Go  on;  don't  wait  for  me." 

"Well,  Yardley,  I  think  I  can  tell  you. 
What's  the  length  of  a  man's  life?" 

"'The  days  of  our  jears  shall  be  three 
score  years  and  ten,  and  if  by  reason  of 
strength  they  be  four  score  years ' — there, 
you've  got  Bible  authority  for  that,  Mr. 
Tempest." 

"  Precisely.  An  interval  of  one  hun- 
dred years  is  bound  to  embrace  and  cover 
[128] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  whole  period  of  any  person's  life — to 
include  his  birth  and  his  death." 

"  How  about  the  centenarians?  " 

"  They  are  too  rare  to  take  into  consid- 
eration." 

"Well,  take  it  then,  Tempest,  that  you 
are  right.  The  hundred  years  is  to  cover 
some  person's  life.     Whose?" 

"The  life  of  some  person  born  on  the 
1 8th  of  August,  1 88 1.  Now,  Yardley,  who 
was  born  on  that  day?" 

11  Really,  I'm  not  the  Registrar-Gen- 
eral." 

"No,  of  course  not;  but  I  wouldn't  give 
tuppence  for  your  memory,  my  dear  Yard- 
ley." 

"Oh,  go  on;  don't  beat  about  the  bush. 
Take  it  for  granted  I'm  as  stupid  as  an  owl. 
I  assure  you  I  feel  I  am  when  I'm  talking 
to  you." 

The  barrister  laughed,  and,  taking  his 
cigarette  from  his  mouth,  he  watched  it  as 

[129] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  smoke  curled  away  from  the  burning 
end. 

"Yardley,  the  water-tight  compartments 
of  your  mind  get  locked  a  bit  too  tightly. 
The  1 8th  of  August,  1881,  is  probably — ■ 
pretty  certainly — the  date  of  the  birth  of 
Evangeline  Stableford.  At  any  rate  that 
is  the  date  of  the  birth  of  the  child  which 
was  offered  to  Lady  Stableford  for  adop- 
tion, and  the  probabilities  are  overwhelm- 
ing that  the  child  that  was  planted  on  her 
was  that  child." 

"Then  do  you  mean  to  say  Mrs.  Garnett 
murdered  Sir  John  as  well?" 

The  barrister's  eyes  half  closed,  and  he 
spoke  slowly  and  deliberately. 

"No,  Yardley,  I  don't;  but  mark  you, 
I  do  say  this,  that  that  secret  trust  refers  to 
Evangeline  Stableford,  and  that  Sir  John 
was  safeguarding  the  honour  of  that  girl's 
mother,  and  her  mother  I  am  pretty  certain 
was  Mrs.  Garnett.  Now,  find  the  expla- 
[130] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

nation  of  the  one,  and  you've  explained  the 
other.  The  two  mysteries  are  one  and  the 
same;  of  that  I'm  positive.  What  we  have 
got  to  do  is  to  trace  Mrs.  Garnett,  and  find 
out  who  she  is.  The  more  I  think  of  it 
the  more  convinced  I  am  that  the  papers 
Sir  John  left,  which  have  been  destroyed, 
would  give  us  the  clue.  But  this  also  I  am 
certain  of,  that  they  were  never  preserved 
to  clear  up  murder  mysteries." 

"  What  do  you  really  think,  Tempest?  " 
"No;  that's  not  fair.  I've  told  you 
what  I  feel  certain  about — the  things  that 
it  seems  to  me  one  is  justified  in  arriving  at 
by  pure  deduction,  and  justified  in  acting 
upon.  What  I've  told  you  already  I'll 
stand  to.  Anything  beyond  that  is  just 
guessing,  for  which  I  won't  be  held  respon- 
sible." 

"Quite  so;  but  what  do  you  guess?" 
"  Well,  if  you  will  treat  this  as  no  more 
than  a  guess,  and  not  bracket  it  as  equally 
[131] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

a  certainty  with  all  the  rest  that  I've  told 
you,  I  don't  mind  your  knowing  what  I  do 
think.  I  believe  that  Miss  Stableford  was 
the  daughter  of  Sir  John  and  Mrs.  Gar- 
nett,  and  that  the  secret  trust  is  an  attempt 
by  Sir  John  to  secure  that  his  daughter 
should  be  provided  for." 

"But  that  doesn't  explain  his  death  or 
hers?" 

"I  grant  you  that:  and  that's  precisely 
why  I  doubt  the  accuracy  of  my  guess. 
Still,  it's  the  only  logical  conclusion  I  have 
argued  out  so  far.  Look  here,  Yardley. 
Take  it  for  granted  that  Miss  Stableford 
was  Sir  John's  daughter.  He  can  disclose 
his  own  position  as  the  father,  but  he  stands 
to  hurt  his  daughter  by  labelling  her  a  bas- 
tard, and  he  also  stands  to  damage  her 
mother  by  labelling  her  to  be  immoral. 
Now,  either  risk  is  considerable  whilst  the 
two  women  are  alive.  Neither  matters 
twopence  when  they  are  both  dead.    Sir 

[132] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

John  must  have  known  Evangeline  was  for 
the  present  well  provided  for.  The  prob- 
ability was  that  Lady  Stableford  would 
leave  her  a  fortune,  and  in  that  case  no  fur- 
ther provision  would  be  necessary.  Wfth 
that  probability  it  was,  it  would  certainly 
be,  a  positive  shame  to  label  Evangeline 
Stableford  as  illegitimate  or  her  mother  as 
immoral.  It  would  be  so  absolutely  un- 
necessary." 

"  But,  steady  on,  Tempest,  how  on  earth 
was  Sir  John  to  be  sure  Lady  Stableford 
would  leave  the  girl  a  fortune?  Suppose 
the  girl  had  lived,  and  Lady  Stableford 
had  left  her  nothing?  How  was  Sir  John 
to  know?  How  were  his  partners  to  know 
from  what  you  presume — assume  it  all  to 
be  true — that  the  occasion  had  arisen  when 
the  trust  came  into  operation?" 

"They  wouldn't  know." 

"Then  your  argument  falls  to  the 
ground?" 

[  133  ] 


the   duplicate   death 

"  No,  Yardley,  it  doesn't.  Your  remark 
takes  it  one  step  further  forward." 
"  How  do  you  make  that  out?  " 
"  Assume  it  all  to  be  true,  then  something 
else  has  to  be  done  to  bring  about  the  occa- 
sion for  the  intervention  of  the  trust.  You 
can  argue  it  out,  and  think  it  over  till  the 
crack  of  doom,  Yardley,  but  I  am  positive 
that  that  trust  cannot  come  into  operation 
by  mere  fortuitous  circumstance.  Some- 
body else  has  still  got  to  do  something; 
therefore,  Yardley,  mark  this — there  is 
somebody  else  alive  now  who  knows  the 
whole  of  the  circumstances  which  were 
known  to  Sir  John,  and  that  somebody  else 
will  create  at  the  proper  time,  if  it  be  nec- 
essary, such  an  occasion  that  resort  to  the 
trust  will  be  essential.  That  person  is  the 
person  whose  honour  Sir  John  was  safe- 
guarding. Now,  that  person's  honour  is 
precious  in  his  or  her  lifetime — it  will  mat- 
ter little  or  nothing  after  death.  There- 
[  134  } 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

fore,  the  other  person  was  watching  Miss 
Stableford's  career.  If  Evangeline  had 
been  provided  for  by  Lady  Stableford, 
nothing  would  ever  have  been  done.  But 
supposing  the  old  lady  had  left  her  unpro- 
vided for,  then  that  person  by  his  or  her 
will  could  and  was  intended  to  disclose 
sufficient  to  bring  the  trust  into  operation 
for  the  benefit  of  Evangeline.  You  can 
discuss  the  thing  for  a  century,  Yardley, 
but  you  will  find  that  it  is  the  only  logical 
conclusion  you  can  come  to  on  what  we 
know.     It's  the  only  one  possible." 

"  Why  didn't  Sir  John  simply  hand  over 
£20,000  in  his  lifetime  to  Miss  Stableford? 
It  could  have  been  done  anonymously,  if 
there  were  any  secret  to  be  guarded." 

"  Very  likely  he  meant  to  when  she  came 
of  age.     Don't  forget  she  died  a  minor." 

"Well,  then,  why   didn't   he   hand   the 
money  to  this  other  person  whom  you  say 
knows  everything  and  is  now  alive?" 
[135] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"I  don't  know,  Yardley;  but  it  was 
probably  because  he  didn't  trust  that  per- 
son. He  did  trust  his  partners.  Look 
here,  there  are  scores  of  people  in  this 
world  who  can  be  trusted  to  do  a  specified 
thing  who  are  absolute  fools  over  money. 
They  are  not  necessarily  dishonest.  It 
simply  is  that  they  muddle  money  away. 
Pay  it  all  into  a  single  banking  account, 
and  find  to  their  horror,  when  it  is  too  late, 
that  they  have  overdrawn  their  accounts. 
That's  how  half  the  trust  funds  which  are 
lost  go.  That  is  what  Sir  John  was  afraid 
of." 

"  Who  do  you  think  that  other  person  is, 
Tempest?  " 

"You  can  take  it  for  granted  Sir  John 
never  gave  away  a  client  in  his  life.  The 
child's  mother  is  bound  to  have  known.  I 
expect  that  other  person  was  the  mother. 

"  Still,  after  all,  Yardley,"  said  the  bar- 
rister, as  he  helped  himself  to  another  cig- 
[  136  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

arette  from  his  case,  "  you  see,  if  it  were 
merely  the  providing  for  the  welfare  of  a 
certain  person,  there  are  hundreds  of  ways 
in  which  this  could  have  been  done  with- 
out exciting  any  suspicion  at  all.  Sir  John 
was  a  clever  lawyer,  and  knew  of  those 
ways.  The  secret  trust  was  so  unnecessary. 
Therefore,  though  I  am  still  inclined  to 
think  my  guess  correct,  I'm  certain  that  if 
it  be  correct,  there  is  a  lot  more  to  come 
out.  You  see,  it  is  quite  possible  no  provi- 
sion will  ever  be  claimed  under  the  trust — 
which  makes  one  doubt  the  daughter  idea. 
What  we  know  or  can  guess  won't  properly 
explain  everything.  Yardley,  you  must 
find  out  Mrs.  Garnett  and  who  she  is." 

"  Can't  you  set  me  something  easier  to 
do?  Working  with  you  somehow  always 
seems  to  involve  these  forlorn  hopes,  wild- 
goose  sort  of  hunts.  How  am  I  to  find  the 
woman?" 

"  God  knows,  Yardley;  I  don't.  I  think 
[137] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  most  likely  way  would  be  to  trace  the 
birth  of  Miss  Stableford." 

"  But  we've  tried  that,  and  failed." 
"I  know;  but  we've  only  tried  England. 
I've  never  been  in  such  a  position  myself, 
and  perhaps  I  don't  know,  but  it's  always  a 
standing  mystery  to  me,  why  the  illegiti- 
mate child  of  a  woman  who  wants  to  cover 
up  its  birth  is  ever  born  in  England.  A 
few  pounds  take  you  over  to  France,  where 
not  a  soul  knows  you.  The  mother  can 
call  herself  .Mrs.  anybody,  and  register  the 
child  as  the  child  of  any  father  or  a  mythi- 
cal father,  if  you  like.  The  fraud  couldn't 
possibly  come  out  till  afterwards,  when  the 
mother  is  safe  back  in  England.  I've 
never  looked  it  up,  but  I  doubt  if  they 
would  extradite  for  such  an  offence.  It's 
forgery  here  by  Act  of  Parliament,  but  I 
don't  suppose  it  is  in  France." 

"  You  might  say  the  same  of  any  country 
in  Europe?" 

[138} 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Yes,  I  agree;  but  don't  forget  the  child 
was  only  ten  days  old  when  it  was  left  with 
Lady  Stableford.  The  baby  was  already 
born,  for  her  sex  was  disclosed  when  the 
first  letter  was  written  to  Lady  Stableford. 
Between  the  date  at  which  the  lady  dis- 
closed her  name  and  address  and  her  find- 
ing of  the  child,  there  was  no  time  for  the 
infant  to  have  been  brought  from  any  great 
distance.  The  baby  was  probably  born 
in  France." 

"  Do  you  think  it's  worth  while  going  to 
France  and  making  inquiries  there?" 

"  Hardly;  for  the  odds  are  20,000  to  one 
against  the  birth  being  registered  in  the 
correct  or  any  genuine  name.  Nor  do  we 
know  what  name  to  look  for.  Obviously 
it  couldn't  be  Stableford." 

"  Up  against  a  blank  wall  again.  Which 
way  round  are  you  going?  " 

"Well,  you've  got  the  remarkable  like- 
ness between   Evangeline   Stableford   and 

[139] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Dolores  Alvarez.  Dolores  was  certainly 
not  the  child's  mother.  She  had  never  had 
a  child ;  but  it's  worth  your  while  to  work 
out  the  Alvarez  pedigree,  for  I  shall  be 
everlastingly  surprised  if  there  proves  to 
have  been  no  blood  relationship  at  all  be- 
tween the  two  women.  I  don't  promise 
you  that  you'll  find  the  solution;  but  that's 
the  only  channel  I  think  of  at  present,  and 
it's  worth  trying.  Still,  there's  one  other 
alternative.  Suppose  Sir  John  is  trying  to 
protect  the  honour  of  a  man,  and  that  the 
child  is  not  his  at  all?  Suppose  Sir  John 
himself  were  only  a  trustee,  and  that  he  did 
not  create  the  trust,  but  only  passed  it  on?  " 

"Suppose  indeed,  Tempest!  However 
do  you  think  of  things  as  you  do?" 

"Think!  One  can't  help  thinking.  The 
alternatives  jump  at  you.  But  you  can 
take  it  for  granted  that  if  Sir  John  were 
protecting  a  man,  that  man  was  no  ordi- 
nary  client.    Any   man   will   go   to   any 

[140] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

lengths  in  the  interests  of  a  woman,  partic- 
ularly if  she  be  a  pretty  woman;  but  I'm 
hanged  if  I  think  many  men  would  go  to 
the  bother  Sir  John  did  simply  in  the  in- 
terests of  a  man.  Besides,  a  man's  inter- 
ests never  get  so  important  in  this  avenue 
that  they  are  worth  such  procedure.  In 
fact,  it  is  hardly  a  very  likely  solution." 

"Tempest,  suppose  her  father  were  a 
king?" 

"I've  thought  of  that,  but  then  kings' 
mistresses  are  always  the  wives  of  other 
men,  who  father  their  children  for  them. 
Added  to  which,  Yardley,  a  king  lives  his 
life  so  much  in  the  open  that  his  bastards 
are  known  to  many  people,  often  to  all  the 
world.  They  can't  be  hidden  up.  No,  it 
isn't  a  king.  Do  you  remember  the  story 
of  poor  Parnell?  It's  always  been  a  mys- 
tery to  me  that  the  Irish  have  ever  tolerated 
the  English  Liberal  Party  since.  The 
Irish  were  more  powerful  under  Parnell 

[141] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

than  they  have  ever  been  before  or  since. 
Yet  they  let  the  Radical  Nonconformist 
conscience  fire  the  ultimatum  at  them  that 
they  must  throw  Parnell  over.  And  so  they 
broke  him  and  broke  themselves.  It  was 
such  sickening  cant — that  ultimatum. 
Yardley,  she  was  far  more  likely  to  be  the 
child  of  a  man  in  the  position  of  Parnell 
than  the  child  of  a  king.  You  see,  a  king 
is  not  dependent  on  public  support  for  his 
position.  A  public  man  is,  and  the  whole 
of  his  private  life  is  expected  to  be  white 
as  driven  snow.  If  it  isn't,  he's  got  to 
whitewash  over  the  shady  places  till  the 
public  can't  spot  them.  And  that  takes 
some  doing.  What  I  doubt  is  that  Sir 
John  would  lend  himself  to  it.  You  see, 
both  the  alternatives  are  unlikely.  Which 
is  the  least  unlikely?  " 

"Hanged  if  I  know!" 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't,  Yardley.  As  far  as 
we  know  at  present,  it's  just  a  case  of  '  you 
.[  142  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

pays  your  money  and  you  takes  your 
choice.' " 

"Tempest,  what  sort  of  a  man  was  Sir 
John?" 

"  Can't  tell  you.  I've  seen  him  in  court 
a  few  times.  Just  knew  the  old  boy  to  nod 
to,  but  that's  all.  I  never  held  a  brief  for 
him.  You  see^  he  was  one  of  the  beastly 
respectable  sort  of  solicitor.  A  divorce 
case  or  anything  nasty  or  criminal  he'd 
send  on  at  once  to  another  firm.  Nice 
stodgy  conveyancing,  chancery  work  or 
family  trust  deeds  and  things  of  that  kind 
were  all  he  would  do.  He  was  a  splendid 
father  to  unregenerate  cubs." 

"  And  all  the  time — as  likely  as  not — he 
was  a  hot  'un  at  home,  eh?  " 

"May  have  been,  for  all  I  know;  but  I 
never  heard  a  whisper  of  that  kind  of  thing 
about  him.  He  wasn't  a  Wesleyan  or  a 
class  leader  or  any  other  advertised  kind  of 
humbug.  He  would  play  cards  at  the 
[143  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

club.  I've  seen  him  at  Ascot  and  Good- 
wood. He  was  a  great  first-nighter,  and 
all  that  sounds  pretty  decent  and  ordi- 
nary." 

•  "  Have  you  asked  his  partners  if  he  had 
any  private  clients?  " 

"Yes,  I  did.  They  know  of  none.  As 
far  as  they  are  aware,  all  the  business  he 
did  went  through  the  office  in  the  regular 
way.  Occasionally  he  would  press-copy  a 
letter  himself  in  a  private  letter-book  he 
kept.  But  Baxter  has  been  through  that, 
and  he  says  there  is  nothing  suspicious  in 
it  and  nothing  the  other  partners  didn't 
know  about." 

"Then  why  did  he  keep  the  letter-book 
private?" 

"  Baxter  told  me  that  the  letters  certainly 
were  private — the  sort  of  letters  you 
wouldn't  let  the  office  boy  see,  but  nothing 
more  than  that." 

"  I'd  like  to  see  that  book,  Tempest." 

[144] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  So  should  I.  But  in  the  face  of  what 
Baxter  says,  I  hardly  see  how  we  could 
press  the  point.  We  mustn't  let  them  get 
the  idea  that  we  are  merely  curious,  or  they 
will  all  just  shut  up  like  oysters.  Still, 
Baxter  isn't  a  fool;  and  if  he  says  it 
wouldn't  help  us,  the  probabilities  cer- 
tainly are  that  he  is  right.  To  sum  it 
all  up,  Yardley,  you've  got  the  mystery  of 
the  death  of  Sir  John,  the  mystery  of  the 
secret  trust,  and  the  mystery  of  the  death  of 
Miss  S.tableford,  and  I  am  convinced  that 
all  the  lot  are -really  only  one  mystery.  But 
all  the  same,  we  haven't  got  the  explana- 
tion of  that  mystery." 

Some  days  later,  Arthur  Baxter  came 
round  to  Tempest's  chambers. 

"  I  haven't  any  idea,"  he  said,  "whether 
there  is  anything  in  it  or  not,  but  you  asked 
me  about  Sir  John's  private  letter-book. 
Yesterday  I  found  a  letter  had  been  copied 
in  it  which  I  had  never  previously  noticed; 
[145] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

and  as  I  can't  explain  it,  and  as  neither  of 
my  partners  know  or  can  even  guess  to 
what  it  refers,  we  three  have  all  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  you  had  better  be  told 
about  it,  in  case  there  may  be  any  clue  to  be 
got  from  it." 
"  How  did  you  come  to  miss  it  before?" 
"  Well,  the  old  boy  didn't  copy  it  follow- 
ing on  the  others.  It  was  on  a  page  quite 
by  itself,  very  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  book. 
I  was  looking  in  the  index.  I  wanted  some 
figures  from  a  certain  letter  which  I  knew 
Sir  John  had  copied  in  his  own  book,  and 
I  came  across  the  reference  '  S.  T.  477.' 
Now,  it  is  a  500-page  letter-book.  The 
last  copied  letter  is  on  page  304.  Natu- 
rally we  didn't  look  on  through  a  lot  of 
blank  pages,  and  so  we  missed  it.  I  can't 
imagine  why  he  copied  it  there  and  not  in 
its  proper  place." 

"  Probably  he  half  meant  to  tear  it  out. 
It  was  most  likely  copied  for  temporary 
[146] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

reference,  and  when  the  opportunity  for  its 
use  was  over  he  probably  intended  to  de- 
stroy it.  That  would  be  why  it  was  only 
indexed  under  initials." 

"What  do  you  suppose  '  S.  TV  means?" 

"  Secret  trust,  I  should  guess.  Would 
that  fit  the  letter?  Let  me  see  it,"  said 
Tempest. 

"  Well,  here's  a  copy  of  it." 

"  Sir  John  Rellingham  has  received  and 
carefully  considered  the  letter.  In  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  discretion  he  must  decline  the 
request.  He  cannot  but  think  that  the  in- 
terview is  essential." 

"Who  was  it  written  to?" 

"  There  isn't  a  hint,  and  it  isn't  dated." 

"When  was  it  written?" 

"  Some  time  during  the  week  before  his 
rdeath." 

"  How  can  you  prove  that?  " 

"  Well,  it's  rather  funny.  The  copying- 
ink  we  used  to  use  in  the  office  was  a  sticky. 
[147] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

purple  kind  of  stuff.  But  we  changed  to 
Stephen's  blue-black  copying-ink  for  some 
reason  or  other  a  week  before  he  died,  and 
this  letter  was  written  in  the  new  ink." 

"  Did  Sir  John  open  his  own  letters  at 
the  office?" 

"No,  the  confidential  clerk  opened 
everything  addressed  to  anybody.  It  was 
the  understood  thing  amongst  the  lot  of  us 
that  everything  that  arrived  at  that  address 
must  be  the  common  interest  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  firm,  so  nobody  used  the  ad- 
dress for  his  private  purposes." 

"But  suppose  a  letter  marked  "Pri- 
vate" and  addressed  to  one  of  you  person- 
ally arrived.    What  would  happen?" 

"  Oh,  Smith  would  open  it! " 

"  Has  Smith  seen  this  copy?  " 

"Yes,  and  he  says  no  letters  arrived  at 
the  office  for  Sir  John,  within  the  last 
month  of  his  life,  that  this  could  possibly 
have  related  to." 

[148] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Then  Sir  John  must  have  received  it  at 
his  own  address?" 

"That's  probable.  You  see,  the  letter 
carries  over  to  the  second  page.  Sir  John's 
private  notepaper  (he  kept  some  at  the  of- 
fice) would  fit  this  letter.  The  office  paper 
won't.  So  much  of  our  stuff  is  typewritten 
that  all  the  office  paper  is  the  single  sheet, 
square  quarto  stuff.  Our  paper  never  does 
carry  over,  because  one  sheet  is  one  page. 
Therefore,  as  he  used  his  private  notepaper, 
with  his  own  address  on,  to  answer  it,  I 
should  guess  it  was  a  reply  to  a  letter  which 
had  reached  him  at  home." 

"  Baxter,  I  suppose  you  haven't  found 
any  letters  this  could  possibly  be  a  reply 
to?" 

"  No,  there's  nothing.  I've  been  through 
all  the  letters  in  his  pocket,  or  that  came  to 
the  office  during  the  last  ten  days  of  his 
life,  and  there  was  nothing  at  his  house. 
It  couldn't  possibly    fit    anything.     Still, 

I  149  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

Sir  John  often  said  that  the  safest  place  for 
a  secret  was  in  the  fire." 

"Then  we  had  better  take  it  that  what- 
ever letter  it  was  a  reply  to  has  been  de- 
stroyed?" 

"That  seems  pretty  certainly  so.  Tem- 
pest, can't  you  think  of  any  explanation? 
Can't  you  unravel  the  business?  They  say 
you've  never  failed  with  any  one  of  these 
murder  cases  that  you've  tackled.  Why 
have  you  failed  us?" 

"No,  Baxter,  that  isn't  cricket.  I'm  not 
a  detective,  and  I  never  undertook  to  play 
detective  for  you.  When  I  have  had  to 
get  a  prisoner  off,  there's  precious  little  I 
stick  at.  I've  done  all  that  lay  to  my  hand. 
I've  sometimes  gone  out  of  my  way  and 
done  a  bit  more,  but  I  don't  undertake  to 
do  detective  work." 

"Tempest,  for  God's  sake  have  pity  on 
us!  Since  this  bother  cropped  up,  forty- 
five  clients  have  formally  removed  their 
[150] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

business  from  us.  Goodness  only  knows 
how  many  more  have  quietly  dropped  us 
without  making  a  fuss  and  intend  never  to 
come  back.  In  twelve  months'  time  we 
shan't  have  a  client  left.  I'm  not  married, 
no  more  is  Marston,  and  he's  young,  but 
Moorhouse  has  a  wife  and  family.  It's  se- 
rious enough  for  all  of  us,  but  it's  Gehenna 
for  him.  Can't  you  suggest  something? 
What  do  you  think?" 

Tempest  and  the  solicitor  walked  out  of 
Lincoln's  Inn  together,  and  slowly  across 
the  fields,  and  as  they  went  the  barrister  re- 
peated the  story  he  had  argued  out  with 
Yardley. 

The  solicitor  stopped  and  turned  and 
faced  the  other  man  on  the  pavement. 

"Tempest,  you  were  present  when  that 
trust  case  was  on.  Do  you  remember  that 
woman  in  court,  sitting  by  herself,  heavily 
veiled  at  the  back,  and  we  wondered  what 
brought  her  there?" 

[151] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Remember!  Damn!  damn!  damn! 
Why  didn't  I  think  of  it?  What  an  asi- 
nine fool  I  was.  That  must  have  been 
Mrs.  Garnett.  Baxter,  why  don't  you  kick 
me?" 

"  I  ought  to  be  kicked  myself.  We  were 
a  pair  of  fools." 

"That  explains  why  she  was  so  inter- 
ested. Yes,  she  wanted  to  know  about  the 
trust." 

"  Tempest,  had  you  thought  all  this  out 
when  that  case  was  on?  If  you  had,  then 
I  will  kick  you." 

"  No,  old  man,  I  hadn't.  I  was  arguing 
it  out  with  Yardley  a  few  days  ago.  To  be 
perfectly  frank,  I  tried  to  put  a  certain 
proposition  to  him,  and  he  kept  on  object- 
ing and  objecting;  and  all  the  time,  as  I 
was  explaining  away  his  objections  to  him, 
I  was  step  by  step  arguing  myself  further 
on.    That's  the  real  truth." 

"  I  wish  we  had  got  hold  of  that  woman. 
[  152  ], 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Her  presence  in  court  that  day  seems  to 
confirm  your  theory,  Tempest." 

"  Baxter,  go  back  to  your  office  and  make 
inquiries  whether  any  of  your  clients  have 
altered  their  wills  since  the  date  of  Evan- 
geline Stableford's  death." 

"  I've  asked  that  already.  We  know  of 
no  alteration  of  a  will  by  any  client.  Of 
course,  we've  made  a  good  many  wills 
since;  but,  as  far  as  I  can  find  out,  none  of 
them  are  for  any  client  for  whom  we  held 
a  previous  one.  But  Sir  John  was  a  clever 
lawyer,  and  I  don't  for  one  moment  sup- 
pose that  the  firm  would  hold  such  a  will 
as  you  suppose  exists,  if  we  held  the  other 
ends  of  the  tangled  thread,  as  apparently 
we  do.  It's  all  amazingly  funny,  Tem- 
pest." 

"  I  think  it  is,"  began  the  barrister,  as 
with  his  eyes  on  the  ground  he  slowly 
paced  on  along  the  pavement. 

"  I've  a  warrant  for  your  arrest,  Mr. 
[153] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Baxter!"  and  both  the  men  turned,  as 
an  inspector  of  police,  overtaking  them, 
placed  his  hand  on  the  solicitor's  arm. 

"It's  really  come,  then?"  he  gasped,  as 
he  turned,  his  face  blanching  deathly  pale. 

"  Damn  you,  Baxter!  hold  your  tongue! " 
said  Tempest,  whose  mind,  accustomed  to 
criminal  work,  at  once  saw  the  danger  of 
the  ghastly  remark  the  solicitor  had  made. 
"  Robson,"  he  added,  for  he  recognised  the 
inspector,  "what's  this  arrest  for?" 

"  Murder  of  Sir  John  Rellingham,  sir." 

"  But  I  understood  Parkyns  had  got  that 
case  in  hand?" 

"  So  he  has,  Mr.  Tempest.  I'm  simply 
making  the  arrest  for  him.  He's  ill  in 
bed." 

"What's  your  evidence,  Robson?" 

"There's  a  lot,  Mr.  Tempest— all  that 
secret  trust  business." 

"  Oh,  that's  only  the  halfpenny  rag  stuff! 
You  haven't  arrested  Mr.  Baxter  on  that. 
[154] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

What's  turned  up  fresh?  Come  on — out 
with  it.  You'll  have  to  tell  the  magistrate 
under  twenty-four  hours." 

"Well,  Mr.  Tempest,  a  revolver  has 
been  found  in  Mr.  Baxter's  rooms,  with 
one  chamber  empty,  whilst  the  other  bul- 
lets match  the  one  Sir  John  Rellingham 
was  killed  with." 

"  It's    a "    began    the   solicitor,   but 

Tempest's  hand  closed  on  his  arm  like  a 
vice.  "Be  quiet,"  he  said;  adding,  "I 
can't  do  much  before  the  magistrate,  but 
I'll  be  there." 

"Tempest,  try  and  get  me  bail?" 

"  Hopeless,  old  man.  It's  a  charge  of 
murder." 

The  inspector  formally  gave  his  prisoner 
the  usual  warning;  and  Tempest  asked, 
"Where  are  you  going  to  charge  him?" 

"Bow  Street,  sir." 

"When?" 

"  Now,  at  once." 

[155] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Then  I'll  come  along  with  you." 

The  clerk  of  a  friend  of  Tempest's 
passed  at  the  moment,  and  the  barrister 
stopped  him.  "  Just  go  into  my  chambers, 
and  tell  my  clerk  to  come  along  to  me  at 
Bow  Street  at  once,  will  you?" 

The  three  men  got  into  a  four-wheeler, 
and  were  rapidly  driven  to  the  police  sta- 
tion. A  few  minutes  of  brief  formality 
and  Arthur  Baxter  was  charged  before  the 
magistrate  and  remanded.  Evidence  of 
arrest  and  of  the  finding  of  the  revolver 
was  given. 

Tempest  knew  that,  as  the  necessity  for 
further  investigations  had  been  alleged,  it 
was  purposeless  to  try  jto  break  up  the  case 
at  that  stage,  and  he  merely  contented  him- 
self with  reserving  his  cross-examination  of 
the  witness. 

The  inspector  asked  for  a  search  war- 
rant, to  enable  a  search  to  be  made  of  the 
offices  of  the  firm. 

[156] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Tempest  at  once  objected,  pleading  the 
privilege  of  the  solicitor. 

"  Is  there  any  case  on  this  point,  Mr. 
Tempest?  "  said  the  magistrate.  "  It  seems 
rather  an  interesting  one." 

"  I  know  of  none,  sir;  and,  even  if  there 
were,  his  partners  could  plead  the  same 
privilege." 

The  inspector  urged  the  necessity  of  the 
search  strongly,  but  Tempest  strenuously 
objected. 

"  I  am  not  sure  you  are  not  right,  Mr. 
Tempest.  Still,  it's  a  point  that  ought  to 
be  authoritatively  settled.  Would  you  be 
content  if  I  grant  the  application  of  the  in- 
spector, subject  to  an  undertaking  that  no 
attempt  to  execute  it  is  made  till  your  ap- 
peal is  decided?  I  suppose  you  will  ap- 
peal?" 

"  Certainly." 

"  Then  that  is  how  it  had  better  stand." 

"But  papers  may  be  destroyed  mean- 
[157] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

while,  your  worship?"  objected  the  in- 
spector. 

"  You  must  take  that  risk,  inspector.  It 
doesn't  amount  to  much,  for  if  there  ever 
were  anything  compromising,  I've  no 
doubt  it  was  destroyed  long  ago.  Still,  it's 
an  interesting  point  that  ought  to  be  set- 
tled. Who  issued  the  search  warrant  for 
Mr.  Baxter's  rooms,  inspector?" 

"  That  was  done  at  Scotland  Yard,  your 
worship.  But  because  of  this  privilege  I 
was  told  to  apply  to  you,  sir,  for  this  other 
warrant." 

"  Quite  so — quite  so,"  assented  the  mag- 
istrate, and  Arthur  Baxter  was  led  away  to 
the  cells. 

"Mr.  Tempest,"  said  the  magistrate,  as 
the  barrister,  picking  up  his  hat  and  stick, 
was  preparing  to  leave  the  court,  "  I've  no 
doubt  this  appeal  will  take  some  time.  I 
quite  appreciate  the  reason  why  you  did 
not  ask  for  bail.  It  is  never  ordinarily 
[158] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

granted  in  a  charge  of  murder.  But  prima 
facie  it  seems  so  unlikely  that  anyone  in  the 
position  of  Mr.  Baxter  would  be  likely  to 
be  guilty  of  the  crime,  that  I  look  with  a 
good  deal  of  apprehension  at  the  possibil- 
ity of  retaining  an  innocent  man  in  custody 
until  that  appeal  can  be  argued.  Between 
now  and  next  week  you  will  doubtless  have 
an  opportunity  of  consulting  your  client; 
and  if  you  find  there  is  any  really  satisfac- 
tory explanation  of  the  discovery  of  the  re- 
volver, and  you  are  in  a  position  to  then 
substantiate  it  with  proper  evidence,  I  am 
at  present  inclined  to  think  I  might  favour- 
ably consider  an  application  for  bail,  pro- 
viding there  is  not  then  any  additional  evi- 
dence. But,  of  course,  it  will  need  to  be 
very  substantial  bail." 

"  I'll  undertake  it  shall  be  forthcoming 
to  any  amount,  sir,"  answered  the  barris- 
ter. 

The  next  day  Tempest  had  an  interview 

[159] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

with  the  prisoner.     "  Now,  how  about  this 
revolver?"  he  asked. 

"My  dear  man,  I  know  no  more  about 
it  than  you  do.  I've  never  had  a  revolver 
in  my  hand  in  my  life,  much  less  fired  one. 
I  never  put  it  there.  I  never  knew  it  was 
there." 

"The  inspector  swore  he  found  it  in 
your  empty  suit-case  in  your  bedroom. 
When  did  you  last  use  your  suit-case?" 

"About  a  fortnight  before  Sir  John  was 
shot.  I  stayed  a  week-end  with  the  Tre- 
lawneys  at  Ashover." 

"  Haven't  you  been  away  from  town 
since?" 

"Oh,  yes;  but  I've  got  a  larger  case, 
which  I  generally  use." 

"  Who  unpacked  for  you  when  you  came 
back  from  Ashover?  " 

"My  man,  Bailey." 

"Well,  the  inspector  says  the  suit-case 
was  not  locked — just  strapped." 
[160] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  That's  how  it  always  is.  Do  you  think 
the  police  put  it  there,  Tempest?  " 

"  Oh,  no.  Parkyns  was  present  when 
Robson  found  it.  I  know  Parkyns  well, 
and  I'd  trust  him  anywhere.  Besides,  the 
police  don't  do  that  kind  of  thing.  They 
try  to  get  convictions,  of  course;  and  if  a 
simple  constable  makes  a  mistake  he  can  al- 
ways get  his  pals  to  come  and  back  him  up. 
But  higher  up  in  the  force  they  wouldn't 
even  do  that.  They  are  a  fine  lot  of  men. 
Can  you  trust  Bailey?" 

"  If  I  find  I  can't,  I'll  never  believe  in 
anyone  else  so  long  as  I  live.  I'd  have 
cheerfully  trusted  my  life  to  him." 

"Well,  Baxter,  it's  simply  this,  unless 
that  revolver  can  be  explained  it  won't  be 
much  good  asking  for  bail.  Can  you  sug- 
gest anything?  I'll  go  and  cross-question 
Bailey,  and  I'll  see  if  Parkyns  will  tell  me 
whether  the  police  have  found  out  where  it 
was  purchased.     That  may  help  us." 

[161] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

The  barrister  left  the  prison,  puzzled 
and  troubled.  After  the  broad  hint  the 
magistrate  had  given  him  it  was  disheart- 
ening to  him  as  an  advocate,  and  damning 
to  his  client,  that  he  could  put  forward  no 
explanation. 

He  went  straight  to  Baxter's  rooms  and 
interviewed  Bailey.  As  he  had  expected, 
he  learned  that,  of  course,  the  revolver 
was  not  in  the  case  when  Bailey  had  un- 
packed it. 

"Did  you  lock  it  up  then?" 

"No,  sir;  just  strapped  it.  To  be  quite 
frank,  Mr.  Baxter  has  lost  the  key  of  it. 
That  happened  years  ago.  If  he  ever  uses 
it  he  always  takes  it  in  the  railway  carriage 
with  him." 

"  Were  you  in  the  room  when  the  police 
found  it?" 

"  No,  sir,  I  wasn't." 

"Bailey,  what  are  Mr.  Baxter's  arrange- 

[162] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

merits    here?    Who    are    the    other    serv- 
ants?" 

"There's  only  my  wife  and  myself,  sir. 
It's  quite  a  small  flat.  The  dining-room, 
the  sitting-room,  the  kitchen,  and  three 
bedrooms." 

14  Is  it  ever  left  entirely  empty?" 
"Not  as   a   rule,   sir;   if   one's   out  the 
other's  in.     Mr.  Baxter  makes  a  point  of 
that,  unless  sometimes  when  he's  been  in 
himself  he's  told  me  to  take  my  wife  out 
for  a  walk." 
"Then  it's  never  been  quite  empty?" 
"  Well,  I  can't  say  that.     Some  time  ago 
my  wife's  mother  was  very  ill,  and  she  went 
home  to  nurse  her.     You  know,  sir,  I  used 
to    be    soldier-servant    to    Mr.    Baxter's 
brother — the  one  who  was  killed  in  South 
Africa.     He   was    in    the    Army    Service 
Corps.     So  I  could  do  most  things.     So 
Mr.  Baxter  s-aid  that  if  I  could  manage  his 
[163] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

breakfasts  he  would  dine  out  till  my  wife 
came  back.  That  was  how  we  managed 
it;  but,  of  course,  I  often  had  to  run  out  to 
do  shopping,  and  then  the  flat  would  be 
empty." 

"  There  would  be  the  chance  then  that 
somebody  could  enter  the  flat  without  you 
knowing?  " 

"Yes,  sir,  at  those  times." 

"  But  you  wouldn't  leave  the  flat  un- 
locked?" 

"No,  sir,  of  course  not;  but  there  was 
only  the  one  latch;"  and  the  man  led  the 
way  to  the  door. 

Tempest  wondered  at  the  array  of  bolts 
and  chains  which  was  there,  and  doubtless 
brought  into  use  every  night  when  three 
people  were  sleeping  in  the  flat;  whilst  all 
the  time  a  single  drop  latch  was  the  only 
protection  when  the  place  was  unoccu- 
pied. 

"  Who  carries  the  key?  " 

[164] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  There  are  two,  sir.  I  carry  one  and 
Mr.  Baxter  has  one." 

"Has  yours  ever  left  your  possession?" 

"Never,  sir." 

"Well,  Bailey,  unless  you  or  your  mas- 
ter are  hiding  something  from  me,  the  ex- 
planation of  this  revolver  business  must 
come  from  you.  Can  you  suggest  any- 
thing? Look  here,  I'm  on  Mr.  Baxter's 
side,  sq  you  needn't  mind  what  you  say  to 
me.  Tell  me  anything  you  know  or  can 
think  of — no  matter  how  black  it  looks. 
The  truth  always  helps,  no  matter  what  it 
is,  when  a  prisoner  is  innocent." 

The  man  hesitated,  and  Tempest  saw  at 
once  there  was  something  to  come  out. 
He  began  once  or  twice  in  a  stammering 
way,  and  then  stopped. 

"Now,  what  is  it?" 

"  Please,  sir,  perhaps  you  ought  to  know 
Sir  John  Rellingham  came  here  the  day 
before  he  was  murdered." 
[165] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"Came  here!    Whatever  for?" 

"  I  don't  know,  sir." 

"What  time  of  day?" 

"  About  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  sir." 

"Well,  why  shouldn't  he?" 

"  No  reason  at  all,  sir — only  what  he  said 
when  he  left." 

"What  was  that?" 

"  I  think  Mr.  Baxter  was  trying  to  per- 
suade him  to  something;  for,  as  he  stood  in 
the  doorway,  I  heard  Sir  John  say — '  No, 
Arthur;  don't  say  any  more.  It's  quite 
final.  I  will  not;  I  can't;'  and  then  I  let 
him  out  and  called  a  cab  for  him." 

The  barrister's  face  grew  grave.  "  Had 
there  been  a  quarrel?"  he  asked. 

"  No,  sir.  They  didn't  seem  to  have 
been  quarrelling.  They  seemed  to  part 
quite  friends,  but  they  had  had  a  long  argu- 
ment.    I  could  hear  that  much." 

Tempest  turned  away  and  moodily 
walked  down  the  stairs.  What  had  been 
[166] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  point  of  difference  between  the  two 
men?  When  he  got  back  to  his'  chambers 
in  Lincoln's  Inn  he  found  a  note  from  In- 
spector Parkyns. 

"  DEAR  Sir, — In  reply  to  your  inquiry, 
there  is  no  reason  at  all  why  I  should  not 
tell  you.  All  identification  marks  on  the 
revolver  have  been  carefully  filed  out,  and 
we  are  quite  unable  to  trace  it. — Yours  re- 
spectfully, S.  Parkyns." 

Another  clue  had  failed. 

When  Baxter  was  again  brought  up  at 
Bow  Street,  Tempest  was  compelled  to  ad- 
mit he  could  at  present  offer  no  explanation 
of  the  presence  of  the  revolver  in  the  pris- 
oner's rooms.  Not  only  had  he  failed  in 
this  direction,  but  evidence  was  now  given 
by  the  bankers  of  Sir  John  Rellingham, 
that  since  the  death  of  Sir  John  a  bill  for 
£2000  had  been  presented  for  payment 
[  167  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

purporting  to  bear  his  signature  as  ac- 
ceptor. They  had  never  previously  known 
Sir  John  to  accept  a  bill,  and  his  current 
credit  balance  was  always  so  large  that  it 
seemed  strange  he  should  have  done  so  on 
this  occasion.  They  had  also  grave  doubt 
as  to  the  signature.  The  bill  had  been 
presented  by  a  well-known  firm  of  money- 
lenders, whose  endorsement  appeared  on 
the  back.  A  member  of  the  firm  in  ques- 
tion, when  called  to  give  evidence,  deposed 
that  three  months  previously  they  had  had 
dealings  with  the  prisoner,  who,  profess- 
ing to  be  acting  for  a  client,  had  taken  up 
before  maturity  a  bill  bearing  the  signature 
of  a  well-known  peer.  They  had  had 
doubts  as  to  the  genuineness  of  that  partic- 
ular signature,  but  had  discounted  it  on  the 
strength  of  the  name  with  which  it  was  en- 
dorsed. 

Tempest  left  his  seat  and  went  over  to 
the  dock. 

[168] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Baxter,  is  this  true?  "  he  asked  in  a  low 
tone. 

"  Perfectly  true.  I  did  deal  with  them, 
but  I  was  acting  for  Lord  Deverell,  and  I 
did  it  at  his  request." 

"Then  the  papers  in  the  office  will  ex- 
plain that?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  not.  He  came  and  called 
on  us,  and  I  saw  him.  The  bill  was  only 
£500,  and  he  brought  the  money  in  gold. 
He  seemed  very  upset  and  anxious  about 
it,  so  I  went  off  there  and  then  to  Isaac- 
son's— got  the  bill,  and  Lord  Deverell 
waited  in  my  room  whilst  I  was  away. 
Consequently  there  was  no  note  of  any  kind 
made  about  the  case.  He  asked  me  not  to, 
in  fact,  and  he  burnt  the  bill  in  my  room  as 
soon  as  he  got  it  back." 

"But  you'll  charge  him  for  doing  it, 
won't  you?  It  will  be  in  your  ledger  or 
somewhere?" 

"  No.    You  see,  we  do  all  his  estate  busi- 

[169] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

ness — that's  hundreds  a  year.  So  as  he 
seemed  very  anxious  there  should  be  no 
record  made  of  the  case  I  let  it  slide.  I  told 
Marston  and  Moorhouse,  and  they  quite 
agreed." 

"Well,  we  shall  have  to  get  Lord  Dev- 
erell  to  give  evidence  for  you." 

"  He  died  three  weeks  ago." 

Tempest  returned  to  his  seat  to  cross-ex- 
amine the  money-lender. 

"How  did  you  get  that  bill?" 

"  We  discounted  it  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  business." 

"  For  whom  did  you  discount  it?" 

"  It  was  brought  to  us  with  this  letter," 
and  the  witness  produced  a  letter  for  in- 
spection. It  was  handed  to  the  magistrate, 
who  passed  it  on  to  Tempest  for  inspection. 
To  his  amazement  he  saw  that  it  was  writ- 
ten on  the  notepaper  of  the  firm  of  Relling- 
ham,  Baxter,  Marston  &  Moorhouse — ob- 
viously in  a  disguised  handwriting. 
[170] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

The  note  merely  stated  that  the  firm 
were  requested  by  one  of  their  clients  to 
ask  Messrs.  Isaacson  to  discount  the  bill  en- 
closed on  the  best  terms  they  could,  and 
hand  the  proceeds  to  the  bearer. 

"Who  was  the  bearer?"  asked  counsel. 
The  witness  was  unable  to  say.  He  had 
assumed  it  was  one  of  the  firm's  clerks.  He 
had  not  taken  any  particular  notice  of  the 
man. 

"How  did  you  get  the  other  bill — the 
one  bearing  Sir  John  Rellingham's  signa- 
ture?" 

"That  reached  us  in  the  same  way, 
brought  by  a  messenger  with  a  note." 

"  Have  you  got  that  note?" 

The  witness  produced  it.  It  was  similar 
to  the  other,  but  merely  asked  Messrs. 
Isaacson  to  oblige  the  firm  by  discounting 
it,  saying  that  on  behalf  of  a  client  the  firm 
had  to  find  the  money  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours,  to  meet  a  heavy  payment,  and  their 
I  HI  1 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

client  required  time  to   realise  money  to 
meet  his  liability. 

"Was  it  the  same  messenger  who 
brought  it?" 

"  I  don't  know.  I  didn't  see  the  man 
myself." 

"Would  your  clerks  know?" 

"  I  hardly  suppose  so.  They  would 
simply  receive  a  note,  and  bring  it  in  to  me 
in  each  case.  There  would  be  nothing  in 
either  instance  which  would  give  them  any 
special  reason  to  connect  a  given  messen- 
ger with  any  particular  transaction.  They 
would  know  nothing  of  the  transaction  or 
from  whom  the  messenger  came." 

"Would  there  be  no  entry  they  would 
make  in  your  books?  Wouldn't  they  be 
aware  of  the  transaction  in  that  way?" 

"  I  always  keep  my  own  books." 

"How  did  you  pay  these  bills?" 

"  In  bank  notes." 

"Did  you  keep  the  numbers?" 
[172] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Yes ; "  and  the  witness  handed  them  in. 

"Have  the  notes  been  traced?"  asked 
the  magistrate. 

"  Yes,  sir.  I'm  going  to  call  evidence," 
replied  the  prosecuting  solicitor. 

A  bank  clerk  next  proved  the  opening  of 
an  account  by  a  Mr.  Everard  Clarke,  who 
had  given  references.  They  had  commu- 
nicated with  the  references  given,  and  had 
received  satisfactory  replies.  All  the  notes 
had  been  paid  in  by  Mr.  Clarke.  In  each 
case  the  bulk  of  the  money  had  been  with- 
drawn in  gold  shortly  afterwards,  but  not 
all  in  one  sum.  The  account  was  now 
practically  closed.  Their  own  charges 
would  more  than  absorb  the  small  remain- 
ing balance.  They  had  since  tried  to  trace 
Mr.  Clarke,  but  the  address  he  had  given 
had  proved  fictitious,  and  the  same  with 
his  references — these,  it  was  now  found, 
having  been  written  from  accommodation 
addresses. 

[  m  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Could  he  recognise  Mr.  Clarke?" 

"  He  was  afraid  not.  He  believed  the 
gentleman  only  came  to  the  bank  once — 
when  he  opened  the  account." 

"Was  it  the  prisoner?" 

"  I  really  couldn't  say.  I  don't  recog- 
nise him." 

The  barrister  sat  down  in  despair,  and 
the  prisoner  was  again  remanded.  The 
two  men  had  an  interview  in  the  cells  im- 
mediately afterwards. 

"Tempest,"  immediately  began  the  so- 
licitor, "  those  letters  are  absolute  forger- 
ies. There  isn't  one  of  us  would  have 
dreamed  of  doing  such  a  thing.  If  Lord 
Deverell  had  wanted  £500  he  could  have 
had  that  much,  or  £5000,  for  the  mere  ask- 
ing, and  we  should  have  paid  it  out  of 
our  current  account.  We  are  constantly 
financing  our  clients,  and  we  keep  a  big 
floating  balance  for  the  purpose.  Besides, 
we  should  never  have  sent  any  client  to 
[  174  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

Isaacson's,  and  as  for  sending  for  £2000 
for  ourselves,  it  is  ridiculous.  Fancy  a 
firm  of  our  standing  touching  such  a 
crowd  or  that  kind  of  business!" 

"  How  could  they  get  your  notepaper?" 

"  Easily  enough.  They  could  get  a 
heading  engraved  like  ours  for  a  few  shil- 
lings, if  they  could  find  a  man  they'd  trust 
to  do  it." 

"  Baxter,  what  did  Sir  John  go  to  your 
rooms  about  the  day  before  he  was  mur- 
dered?" 

"Who  told  you  that?" 

"Bailey  did." 

"Oh,  it  was  simple  enough,"  the  solic- 
itor answered,  speaking  very  slowly  "  He 
— he  just  came  in  for  a  smoke  and  a  chat." 

"Baxter,  that's  a  lie,  and  you  know  it. 
What  was  it  that  he  refused  to  do?" 

The  other  man  flushed  a  dusky  crimson. 
"  I'd  asked  him,"  he  stammered,  "  to  help 
me  to  float  a  little  syndicate  I  was  inter- 

[175] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

ested  in.  He  said  solicitors  ought  not  to 
gamble,  and  so  he  declined  to  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  it." 

From  his  half-closed  eyes  Tempest 
watched  the  other  as  he  had  invented  the 
story.  He  felt  certain  the  tale  was  per- 
fectly untrue,  and  that  the  solicitor  was 
hiding  something.  What  was  that  some- 
thing? 

Thinking  it  all  out  quietly  afterwards, 
Tempest  came  to  the  conclusion  that, 
whether  Baxter  were  innocent  or  guilty, 
probably  the  interview  with  Sir  John  had 
no  relation  to  his  murder.  Presuming  that 
it  had,  the  motive  for  the  crime  was  the 
desire  to  profit  financially  by  Sir  John's 
death.  The  only  financial  matter  that 
could  possibly  be  on  the  tapis,  and  be  in 
issue  between  Baxter  and  Sir  John,  in- 
volved the  supposition  that  Baxter  had 
forged  Sir  John's  signature  and  that  Sir 
John  had  found  this  out.  Because  the  Dev- 
[176] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

erell  bill  had  been  taken  up  and  settled, 
that  matter  was  closed.  But  the  two  had 
parted  on  quite  friendly  terms,  an  impos- 
sible supposition  if  the  one  had  discovered 
that  the  other  had  forged  his  name.  There 
might  be — as  there  probably  were — many 
private  matters  which  Sir  John  and  his 
partner  could  have  been  discussing  which 
had  no  relation  to  the  crime.  But  sup- 
posing Baxter's  story  were  true  as  regards 
his  interview  with  Lord  Deverell,  then 
there  was  fraud  regarding  the  inception  of 
the  matter  in  the  forgery  of  the  letter  on 
the  strength  of  which  the  bill  had  been  dis- 
counted. 

Assuming  that  fraud,  how  had  Lord 
Deverell  ever  got  to  know  of  the  existence 
of  the  bill?  Isaacson's  had  admitted  they 
did  not  communicate  with  him.  And  why 
had  he  wished  to  take  up  the  bill?  His 
desire  to  do  so  was  an  admission  of  the  sig- 
nature. Yet  why,  if  that  were  so,  had 
[  177] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Lord  Deverell  troubled  to  forge  a  letter 
from  his  own  solicitors?  His  own  name 
was  on  the  bill,  so  there  could  be  no  ques- 
tion of  an  attempt  to  cover  up  his  identity 
of  his  participation  in  the  matter.  His 
interest  in  it  being  admitted,  it  would 
have  been  simple  enough  for  him  to  get  it 
discounted  by  his  own  bank,  or  even  by 
Isaacson's,  who  would  have  jumped  at  the 
chance  of  temporarily  obliging  a  person  of 
his  financial  stability,  even  supposing  it  to 
be  necessary  for  him  to  draw  a  bill  at  all. 
There  were  all  these  improbabilities  in  the 
way  of  accepting  Baxter's  own  story.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  prosecution  alleged  that 
Baxter  had  himself  forged  the  bill,  and 
written  the  letter  bearing  his  firm's  name, 
and  then  had  himself  taken  the  bill  up  to 
prevent  its  presentation.  Against  that 
supposition  there  was  only  the  character  of 
Arthur  Baxter.  And  if  Baxter  would 
forge  one  bill  he  would  forge  another.    He 

[178] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

would  know  the  signatures  of  both  Lord 
Deverell  and  Sir  John. 

But  then — and  the  thought  flashed  across 
Tempest's  brain — so  would  any  of  the 
clerks  in  the  office.  They  could  get  at  the 
key  of  the  office.  It  was  by  no  means  un- 
likely that  one  of  them  might  have  had 
access  to  Baxter's  rooms.  Picking  up  the 
telephone,  he  at  once  rang  up  the  Exchange 
and  asked  to  be  put  on  the  number  which 
he  knew  was  that  of  the  solicitor's  flat. 

"That  you  Bailey? — I'm  Mr.  Tempest. 
Have  any  of  the  clerks  from  the  firm's 
offices  ever  been  down  to  Mr.  Baxter's  in 
his  absence? — Just  ask  your  wife  then. — 
Yes? — Which  of  them — Smith,  do  you  say? 
— When  did  he  come? — Can  she  fix  the 
day? — What  excuse  did  he  give? — Was  he 
allowed  to  go  in? — Oh  no,  I  don't  blame 
her — of  course  she  knew  who  Smith  was. 
— Tell  her  not  to  say  anything." 

Tempest  put  down  the  receiver,  and  sat 
[  1^9  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

at  his  table,  puzzled  and  worried  to  dis- 
traction. Should  he  have  Smith  arrested? 
To  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  evidence 
against  Baxter  and  Smith  was  practically 
the  same.  If  the  revolver  was  found  in  the 
suit-case  of  the  former,  the  latter  had  had 
an  opportunity  of  putting  it  there,  and,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  was  the  only  per- 
son who,  as  far  as  he  could  see,  had  had 
such  an  opportunity. 

But  he  felt  certain  that  no  jury  would 
convict  Smith,  and  release  Baxter,  on  the 
evidence  as  it  stood.  Smith  had  had  a 
perfect  alibi  at  the  inquest.  He  had  been 
at  home  all  the  evening.  Both  his  father 
and  his  brother  had  given  evidence  of  it, 
and  other  evidence  was  offered,  as  a  party 
had  been  taking  place  at  their  house  that 
night.  Still,  they  had  Smith's  admission 
that,  save  Sir  John,  he  was  the  last  to  leave, 
and  he  might  have  shot  Sir  John  before  he 
left.  If  Smith  were  guilty,  he  would  have 
I  180  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

to  be  convicted  out  of  his  own  mouth,  and 
Tempest  believed  this  would  be  easier  to 
do,  when  cross-examining  him  as  a  wit- 
ness, than  if  he  were  a  prisoner.  One 
can  go  to  greater  lengths  with  a  witness 
than  one  can  in  cross-examining  a  prisoner. 
Decency  compels  a  prisoner  to  be  given 
fair  play,  and  a  judge  would  take  good 
care  he  had  it.  Picking  up  a  pen,  Tem- 
pest wrote  a  note  to  the  inspector: 

"Dear  Parkyns, — I  take  it  you  will 
have  to  call  Smith  (Sir  John  Rellingham's 
confidential  clerk)  as  a  witness  when  Mr. 
Baxter  is  tried.  I  very  particularly  wish 
to  cross-examine  him.  I  don't  want  to 
arouse  his  suspicions  by  doing  it  before  the 
magistrate,  and  I  don't  want  you  to  put  him 
on  his  guard  by  any  obvious  attentions. 
But  I  wish  you  would  pass  the  word  along 
that  care  must  be  taken  that  he  doesn't  slip 
through  our  fingers.     I  shouldn't  be  sur- 

[181] 


The   duplicate   death 

prised  at  this,  if  he  thought  it  likely  he 
would  be  asked  certain  questions  which  I 
intend  to  put  to  him.  Could  you  also 
make  an  opportunity  of  taking  that  bank 
clerk  to  the  firm's  offices,  and  let  him  see 
Smith,  on  the  chance  of  his  recognising 
him  as  Everard  Clarke?  If  you'll  ask  for 
Mr.  Marston,  I'll  arrange  with  him  that 
Smith  shall  be  called  in  on  some  excuse 
whilst  you  are  there. — Yours  faithfully, 
Ashley  Tempest." 

rA  few  days  later  came  the  reply: 

"  Dear  Sir, — I  did  as  you  requested,  but 
Jenks  (the  bank  clerk)  evidently  did  not 
recognise  Smith.  I  also  took  Isaacson's 
clerk  there  the  next  day.  He  was  certain 
he  had  never  seen  Smith  before.  I  will 
have  Smith  watched,  as  you  suggest. — 
Yours  respectfully,  S.  PARKYNS. 

"P.  S. — At  Bow  Street  to-morrow  we 
[182] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

are  calling  evidence  as  to  the  state  of  Mr. 
Baxter's  banking  account.  He  had  only  a 
very  small  balance — far  less  than  one 
would  expect — but  he  had  a  balance.  I 
cannot  find,  however,  that  he  was  in  debt, 
and  I  hear  he  spends  a  lot  of  money  in 
buying  pictures,  etc." 

"Yardley,"  said  Parkyns  the  following 
day,  when  the  prisoner  had  been  again  re- 
manded, "  do  you  think  Mr.  Tempest 
knows  young  Deverell — the  young  brother 
of  the  new  Lord?" 

"Why?" 

"  Because  there's  one  line  I'm  puzzled 
to  think  why  your  lot  don't  try  to  follow 
up." 

"What's  that?" 

"Well,  I  don't  know  that  it's  any  partic- 
ular business  of  mine  to  help  you  with  the 
defence,  but  it  seems  so  obvious  to  me. 
Young  Deverell's  a  rank  bad  lot.  Oh,  I 
[  183  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

know  he  hasn't  lost  caste,  or  anything  of 
that  kind,"  added  the  inspector,  as  Yardley 
attempted  to  interrupt;  "but  all  the  same 
he's  a  bad  lot.  We've  had  a  good  many  in- 
quiries about  him  at  the  Yard  over  one 
thing  and  another,  and  I  know  he  is  hard 
up.  It  may  not  mean  anything,  and 
nothing  has  ever  been  brought  home  to 
him,  but  he  has  been  mixed  up  in  several 
fishy  transactions  that  never  came  into 
court.  You  see,  Deverell  would  know  who 
his  father's  solicitors  were.  I  know  myself 
.he  has  borrowed  money  from  Isaacson's. 
Suppose  he  forged  his  father's  name  to 
that  bill;  and  then  suppose  he  got  fright- 
ened and  told  his  father?  The  old  man, 
at  any  rate  if  it  were  the  first  time,  might 
very  well  try  to  hush  it  up  according  to 
the  evidence  Isaacson  gave,  and  there's  no 
doubt  whatever  that  young  Deverell  left 
England  between  that  time  and  his  father's 
death.     He  wasn't  mentioned  in  Lord  Dev- 

[184] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

erell's  will,  at  least  not  in  the  newspaper 
note  of  it.  I  haven't  bothered  to  see  the 
will  itself." 

"But  that  doesn't  account  for  the  Rell- 
ingham  bill,  Parkyns?" 

"No,  I  quite  admit  that;  and,  of  course, 
Mr.  Tempest  may  know  a  lot  of  other  de- 
tails that  upset  what  I've  told  you.  'But 
just  ask  him  if  he  knew  young  Deverell." 

Yardley  passed  on  his  conversation  with 
Parkyns  to  Tempest  at  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity. 

"No,"  the  barrister  at  once  said.  "I 
know  nothing  about  Deverell.  What  you 
tell  me  is  most  important;"  and  once  again 
Tempest's  wits  were  started  in  a  new  di- 
rection. That  such  a  person  as  young 
Deverell  existed  he  did  know,  but  of  his 
character  he  was  entirely  ignorant.  The 
man  belonged  to  a  younger  generation, 
and  the  two  had  never  happened  to  meet. 

The  hint  of  Parkyns  opened  up  a  new 

[185] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

position.  Deverell  might  have  forged  the 
one  bill.  Whoever  did  had  had  access 
to  or  had  copied  the  firm's  notepaper. 
Having  successfully  discounted  one  bill  it 
was  quite  likely  a  second  attempt  might  be 
made;  and  Sir  John  Rellingham,  likely 
enough,  would  write  personal  letters  to 
Lord  Deverell,  from  which  his  writing 
and  signature  could  be  copied.  But  Tem- 
pest could  not  think  out  that  supposition 
any  further:  nor  could  he  fit  it  in  any  way 
with  the  discovery  of  the  revolver  in  Bax- 
ter's suit-case.  Involuntarily  his  suspicions 
harked  back  to  Smith,  and  the  barrister 
turned  his  mind  to  the  possibility  of  break- 
ing up  the  alibi  which  Smith  put  forward. 
The  alibi  given  at  the  coroner's  inquest 
had  certainly  never  been  subjected  to  cross- 
examination.  Such  was  the  point  at  which 
matters  stood  when  an  entirely  new  devel- 
opment occurred.  Marston  came  round  to 
Tempest's  chambers,  and,  their  greeting 
[186] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

over,  placed  a  gold  watch  and  chain  on  the 
table.  "  Tempest,  this  was  Sir  John's,"  he 
said. 

"Well,  how  can  they  help?"  said  the 
barrister,  picking  them  up. 

"Open  the  back.  I  only  saw  that  the 
back  opened  yesterday.  It's  a  keyless 
watch;  and  though  I  bought  it  at  the  sale 
of  Sir  John's  things  I  never  thought  of 
opening  it  till  yesterday."  Tempest  opened 
the  watch,  and  almost  jumped  from  his  seat 
in  his  astonishment. 

"Look  there!"  he  almost  shouted,  as  he 
pointed  to  the  miniature  hanging  on  the 
wall,  and  then  held  out,  for  the  other  man 
to  compare  with  it,  the  portrait  inside  the 
case.    The  two  faces  were  identical. 

"Who  is  it,  Tempest?" 

"That   miniature    is    Dolores   Alvarez, 
who  died  twenty  years  ago,  and  it's  the 
living    image    of    Evangeline    Stableford, 
who  was  murdered  the  other  day." 
[187] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Then,  which  of  the  two  did  Sir  John 
know?  Whose  portrait  was  he  carry- 
ing?" 

"You  can  soon  settle  that.'  If  it  be  the 
younger  woman,  then  this  miniature  of  Sir 
John's  must  have  been  painted  within  the 
last  three  or  four  years.  Otherwise  it 
could  not  be  a  full-grown  woman,  but 
would  be  a  picture  of  a  young  girl.  If  the 
miniature  was  fitted  in  by  the  firm  who 
made  the  watch,  then  it's  the  portrait  of 
Dolores.  I've  been  confident  all  along — 
at  any  rate  of  late — that  the  mystery  of  Sir 
John's  death  and  the  mystery  of  Evangeline 
Stableford's  death  was  one  and  the  same 
mystery.  This  likeness  between  the  three 
can't  be  pure  coincidence.  Marston,  Yard- 
ley  will  tell  you  that  weeks  ago  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  Evangeline  was  Sir 
John's  daughter,  and  this  portrait  in  Sir 
John's  watch  is  probably  that  of  Evange- 
line's mother." 

[188] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Then  do  you  think  that  Evangeline  was 
the  daughter  of  Dolores  Alvarez?" 

The  barrister  lighted  a  cigarette,  and 
dropped  into  his  habit  of  pacing  up  and 
down  his  room.  At  last  Marston  broke 
the  silence  by  repeating  the  question. 

"Marston,  everything  points  to  that — if 
there  is  anything  in  deductive  reasoning 
when  applied  to  the  solution  of  this  kind 
of  problem — it  would  seem  that  that  is  the 
certain  fact.  Over  and  over  again  I  come 
back  to  it.  Argue  it  out,  reason  it  out  by 
any  chain  of  reasoning,  by  any  sequence  of 
argument  you  like  to  adopt,  you  must  come 
back,  as  I  always  do,  to  that  conclusion. 
It  seems  as  certain  to  me  as  the  mathemati- 
cal answer  to  a  problem  in  algebra.  There 
is  no  other  conclusion.  It's  the  logical  solu- 
tion of  every  argument,  but  it's  wrong 
somewhere,  for  it  doesn't  happen  to  be 
right." 

"Why  not?    Why's  it  wrong?" 
[189] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Simply  because  Dolores  never  had  a 
child.  The  doctors  who  made  the  post- 
mortem are  positive  about  that.  It's  a 
matter  that  can't  admit  of  any  doubt.  It's 
a  fact  that  cannot  be  questioned.  Dolores 
never  had  a  child.  So  our  reasoning  is  at 
fault,  though  I  can't  see  where." 

"  Had  she  a  sister?" 

"Only  Lady  Madeley.  Yardley  has 
made  inquiries  that  settle  that." 

"Then  could  Evangeline  have  been  a 
child  of  Lady  Madeley — unacknowledged, 
of  course?" 

"  No,  that  can't  be  true  either." 

"Why  not?" 

"Evangeline  is  left  at  Lady  Stableford's 
House  on  a  certain  date — within  ten  days  of 
the  date  of  the  marriage  of  Lord  and  Lady 
Madeley.  The  child  that  was  left  was  less 
than  ten  days  old.  That  much  the  doctors 
can  swear  to.  I've  seen  the  case  book  of 
the  man  Lady  Stableford  called  in.    The 

[190] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

child  must  have  been  born  within  a  margin 
of  two  days  on  either  side  of  the  date  of  the 
wedding.  Lord  Madeley  dined  with  his 
fiancee  at  the  Langham  Hotel  the  night 
before  the  wedding.  Obviously  a  woman 
could  not  have  been  dining  out  within 
twenty-four  hours  of  having  had  a  child. 
The  day  before  that  she  came  to  town  from 
Cornwall.  After  the  wedding  they  went  to 
Paris.  The  child  could  not  have  been 
born  on  the  wedding  day.  The  day  after 
they  dined  at  the  Embassy  in  Paris.  The 
next  day  they  went  on  further  south.  No, 
Lady  Madeley  could  not  have  given  birth 
to  a  child  at  that  time. 

"  Besides,  Marston,  the  hundred  years  in 
the  secret  trust  was  to  run  from  18th 
August,  1 88 1.  That  was  the  date  of  the 
wedding  day,  and  that  was  stated  to  be  the 
date  of  the  birth  of  the  child  originally 
offered  to  Lady  Stableford,  and  in  all 
probability   that   was    the    child   she   did 

[191] 


The   duplicate   death 

adopt.  The  secret  trust  was  for  the  benefit 
of  Evangeline,  of  that  I  am  certain.  By 
the  way,  I  suppose  your  firm  aren't  Lady 
Stableford's  solicitors  by  any  chance?" 

"As  it  happens  we  are — or  at  any  rate 
were.  We  still  have  a  lot  of  her  papers. 
She  was  one  of  Sir  John's  old  original 
clients.  Sir  John  acted  for  her  when  she 
was  negotiating  for  the  adoption  of  that 
child  which  you  say  is  Evangeline." 

"  Did  you  make  her  will?  " 

"Sir  John  did." 

"Why  didn't  you  tell  me  that?" 

"  How  was  I  to  know  there  was  any 
connection?" 

"What's  the  date  of  Sir  John's  will?" 

"  September,  1900." 

"When  did  Lady  Stableford  make  her 
will?" 

"  Oh,  I  can't  tell  you  off-hand.  I'll  send 
you  word." 

"No,  I'll  come  round  now." 
[192] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Together  the  two  men  went  to  the  offices 
of  Messrs.  Rellingham,  Baxter,  Marston  & 
Moorhouse,  and  Marston  turned  up  the 
letter-books.  "  Here  you  are,  Tempest. 
Lady  Stableford  must  have  written,  because 
here,  you  see,  Sir  John  writes,  suggesting 
Lady  Stableford  should  reconsider  her  sug- 
gestion, and  pointing  out  that  going  on  the 
stage  is  not  necessarily  an  abandonment  of 
all  morality.  Then  here's  the  next  letter  in 
which  he  sends  the  will  for  execution,  and 
again  refers  to  the  injustice  of  leaving  the 
girl  penniless,  after  having  brought  her  up 
to  regard  herself  as  heir.  That's  the  end 
of  July,  1900." 

"  And  then  Sir  John,  evidently  knowing 
that  Evangeline  was  cut  off  with  a  shilling, 
I  suppose  by  Lady  Stableford,  a  month  or 
more  later  creates  this  secret  trust.  The 
thing  is  self-evident." 

"  That  may  be  so,  Tempest;  but  some  six 
months  before  Sir  John  died,  Lady  Stable- 
[193] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

ford  and  Evangeline  were  reconciled,  and 
the  old  lady  made  another  will,  by  which 
the  girl  would  have  got  nearly  everything. 
I  remember  that  will,  for  I  drafted  it. 
Now,  Sir  John  never  altered  his  will  or 
cancelled  the  secret  trust  which  then  be- 
came unnecessary,  if  your  theory  were 
right." 

"Oh,  that  doesn't  matter.  He  very 
likely  thought  it  quite  probable  Lady 
Stableford  might  possibly  change  her  mind 
again." 

"Well,  granted  it's  all  as  you  say — 
granted  Evangeline  was  Sir  John's  daugh- 
ter, what's  it  all  come  to?" 

"Nothing  as  yet,  Marston;  but  who  was 
the  girl's  mother?  Who  was  or  is  Lady 
Rellingham?" 

" Did  he  marry  the  mother?" 

"Quite  likely.      Let's  look  it  up.      It 
must  be  before  August,  1881.     Come  along 
down  to  Somerset  House." 
[194] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Together  the  two  men  made  the  search, 
and  found  that  early  in  1880  John  Relling- 
ham,  solicitor,  had  married  Sarah  Jane 
Manuel,  daughter  of  Pedro  Manuel  of 
Dublin,  hairdresser.  His  second  marriage 
to  Georgiana  Drury,  as  they  knew,  had  not 
taken  place  until  1890. 

"  That's  put  the  stopper  on  any  Alvarez 
business,  Tempest,  at  any  rate." 

11  It  looks  like  it  certainly." 

Tempest  paid  for  another  search  ticket, 
and  turned  up  the  marriage  of  Lord  Made- 
ley.  Lady  Madeley  had  been  married  in 
the  name  of  Eulalie  Alvarez. 

"  I  think  we  must  put  Yardley  on  to  an 
investigation  of  Pedro  Manuel  and  his 
family.   That  is  obviously  the  thing  to  do." 

"What  earthly  chance  is  there  of  his 
finding  out  anything?" 

"Precious  little,  I'm  afraid,"  said  the 
barrister.  "  But  there's  one  thing  we  might 
do,  Marston,  Bring  that  trust  into  court 
[195] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

again,  and  paragraph  it  as  an  approaching 
case,  and  see  if  we  can  tempt  the  lady  to 
turn  up  again." 

"  I  wonder  if  she  would?  " 

"  She  might  do;  for,  of  course,  she  can't 
have  the  slightest  suspicion  that  we  have 
guessed  she  has  some  connection  with  the 
case." 

"  How  will  you  bring  it  on,  Tempest? 
There  isn't  much  time." 

"Give  notice  of  a  motion  for  Friday  next, 
and  put  up  somebody,  and  I'll  have  enough 
of  a  wrangle  with  him  in  court  to  get  it  into 
the  papers,  and  then  we'll  ask  his  lordship 
to  adjourn  it  for  a  week,  on  the  chance  of  a 
mutual  settlement.  It  must  be  well  re- 
ported, and  I  daresay  that  can  be  arranged. 
tVery  likely  the  lady  will  turn  up  on  the 
following  Friday." 

"  But  can  you  get  the  trial  of  Baxter  post- 
poned till  afterwards?" 

"Yes.  I'll  put  up  some  sort  of  defence, 
[196J 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  address  the  magistrate  at  great  length, 
and  then  get  another  remand.  That  will 
throw  us  over  the  coming  sessions  of  the 
Central  Criminal  Court.  There  aren't  any 
sessions  in  August,  so  we  will  have  over 
five  weeks.  We  ought  to  know  where  we 
stand  then." 

In  due  course  affidavits  were  lodged; 
and  Tempest  moved  on  behalf  of  Marston, 
for  an  appointment  of  a  receiver  of  the 
trust  funds  pending  the  decision  of  the 
court  on  an  issue  shortly  to  be  raised  as  to 
a  division  of  the  trust  funds  between  the 
surviving  partners  of  the  late  Sir  John 
Rellingham.  Other  counsel  had  been 
briefed  for  Baxter  and  for  Moorhouse, 
and  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  three 
men  wrangled  before  the  judge.  Hints  of 
sensational  disclosures,  veiled  comment,  and 
flat  contradiction,  all  did  their  work. 

"  Mr.  Tempest,"  said  the  judge,  u  I'm 
very  much  in  the  dark.  Cannot  you  indi- 
[197] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

cate  in  some  way  the  nature  of  this  trust? 
I'm  not  suggesting  you  should  disclose  any- 
thing obviously  intended  to  be  kept  secret; 
but  why  was  the  trust  created?  Was  it  to 
benefit  a  person  or  persons,  or  was  it  to 
carry  out  a  purpose?  Obviously,  under 
the  terms  of  the  will,  and  by  the  decree  of 
this  court,  the  money  now  belongs  to  the 
surviving  partners  of  the  firm.  Why  not 
divide  it?  Does  a  purpose  still  exist  to 
which  the  partners  desire  to  apply  it?  " 

u  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  my  lord,  I 
can  only  ask  your  lordship  to  accept  my 
word  that  the  partners  have  not  and  have 
never  had  the  remotest  idea  of  what 
object  was  in  the  mind  of  Sir  John  Relling- 
ham  when  he  created  the  trust." 

"  Surely  that  cannot  be  so.  The  will 
says,  'to  be  applied  by  them  to  and  for  the 
purposes  which  I  have  sufficiently  indi- 
cated to  them.'  You  see  Sir  John  says  he 
has  indicated.  It's  the  past  tense." 
[  198  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Quite  so,  my  lord.  The  instructions 
were  in  a  sealed  packet.  This  packet  was 
not  to  be  opened  until  certain  eventualities 
occurred;  and  there  were  certain  stringent 
instructions  left  with  it  that  the  moment 
litigation  began  the  packet  was  to  be  de- 
stroyed. Your  lordship  will  remember  the 
Crown  did  begin  litigation,  and  conse- 
quently the  papers  were  destroyed.  It 
seems  to  me,  my  lord,  that  Sir  John's  first 
idea,  overriding  everything  else,  was  to 
preserve  the  secrecy  he  enjoined  upon  the 
trustees  he  appointed ;  and  rather  than  that 
that  secrecy  should  be  waived,  he  pre- 
ferred that  the  object  of  the  trust  should 
suffer  and  his  partners  benefit.  His  part- 
ners have  loyally  adhered  to  his  wishes,  and 
the  money  is  theirs.  They  claim  it,  and 
they  repudiate  any  claim  to  it  by  anybody 
else;  but,  nevertheless,  they  feel  that  the 
past  action  of  the  Crown  could  not  have 
been  anticipated  by  Sir  John,  and  they  are 
[199] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

disinclined  at  present  to  dissipate  what 
were  originally  trust  funds.  There  has 
been  no  quarrel,  but  at  the  same  time  they 
differ  amongst  themselves  as  to  the  course 
which  should  now  be  pursued.  May  I  put 
it  that  they  are  in  a  friendly  state  of  doubt 
and  uncertainty?  " 

The  discussion  went  on;  and  finally,  at 
the  end  of  an  hour,  Tempest  threw  out  a 
suggestion  that  perhaps,  if  his  lordship 
would  adjourn  the  case  for  a  week,  it  might 
be  possible  to  agree  to  terms  which  could 
then  be  submitted  for  the  approval  of  the 
court.  The  judge  at  once  consented;  and 
in  view  of  the  newspaper  interest  which 
had  previously  been  excited  on  the  subject 
of  this  secret  trust,  all  of  the  evening  papers 
and  most  of  the  morning  ones  the  next  day 
reported  the  proceedings  with  some  de- 
tail. 

Nothing  remained  to  do  but  to  wait  pa- 
tiently  for   the  week  which  must   ensue 

[200] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

before  they  could  know  whether  or  not  the 
bait  had  been  effective. 

On  the  following  Friday  morning  Tem- 
pest was  early  in  his  seat  in  Chancery 
Court  No.  3.  The  benches  were  always 
packed  on  a  motion  day,  and  Tempest  had 
no  desire  to  take  part  in  the  jostling  scrim- 
mage for  seats,  which  was  usual  on  such 
occasions. 

A  belated  K.  C.  struggled  through  the 
crowd  in  the  doorway,  his  gown  half  torn 
from  his  back  in  the  crush.  Seeing  Tem- 
pest, he  turned  and  said: 

"  Look  here,  old  man,  why  can't  you 
keep  your  beastly  sensational  cases  out  of 
our  way  here?  Just  look  at  this  menagerie 
of  a  place  instead  of  the  usual  staid  and 
sober  appearance  of  a  chancery  court?  It's 
demoralising!" 

Tempest  laughed.  "  For  pity's  sake, 
don't  blame  me.     I  didn't  bring  'em." 

"  No,  but  your  case  has." 
[201] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Well,  they'll  be  awfully  disappointed. 
It's  all  arranged  between  us  now." 

"Silence!"  called  out  the  usher,  and 
their  conversation  ended,  as  everybody  rose, 
and  returned  the  bow  of  Mr.  Justice 
Barker. 

"Mr.  So-and-So,"  and  the  judge  called 
on  the  leader  in  his  court.  Tempest 
turned  in  his  seat  and  eagerly  scanned  the 
faces  of  those  present  in  court  and  in  the 
gallery.  At  last,  right  at  the  back  of  the 
court,  he  caught  sight  of  the  person  for 
whom  he  was  looking.  Dressed  in  black, 
and  heavily  veiled,  he  saw  the  same  woman 
who  had  excited  his  curiosity  on  a  previous 
occasion.  He  looked  at  Yardley  wedged 
in  the  crowd  near  the  doorway,  and  caught 
the  detective's  half-veiled  nod  which 
showed  that  he  had  also  found  his  quarry. 
Next  to  Yardley  was  standing  Craven,  his 
assistant,  a  perfect  sleuthhound  of  a 
tracker;  and  before  Tempest's  gaze  had 
[202] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

dropped  again  to  his  papers,  he  had  seen 
Craven  leave  the  court,  to  reappear  in  a 
moment  at  the  other  door,  within  a  yard  or 
two  of  the  woman  they  wanted. 

One  by  one  tfie  King's  Council  present 
in  court  were  called  upon;  and  then,  after 
one  or  two  of  the  junior  bar — habitues  of 
that  particular  court — had  each  been  given 
his  opportunity  by  name,  came  the  con- 
cluding, "Any  more  motions  behind  the 
bar?"\  and  Tempest  rose,  and  in  a  few 
words  said  that  the  parties  concerned  had 
agreed  to  ask  his  lordship  to  appoint  them 
jointly  to  be  receivers,  pending  the  trial  of 
the  issue.  The  judge  promptly  assented  to 
the  proposal,  and  then  at  once  the  court 
began  to  empty  of  the  public,  baulked  of 
the  anticipated  revelation;  but  Tempest 
lingered,  curious  to  see  what  might  happen. 
A  tedious  dispute  as  to  a  right-of-way  in- 
junction followed,  but  the  lady  sat  on,  ap- 
parently keenly  interested.     Concluding  it 

[203] 


The   duplicate   death 

to  be  a  ruse  to  mask  any  apparent  concern 
with  the  matter  just  concluded,  and  know- 
ing she  would  be  safe  in  the  care  of  Yard- 
ley  and  Craven,  Tempest  signed  to  his 
clerk  to  collect  his  papers,  and  took  his  way 
to  the  King's  Bench  side,  where  another 
case  awaited  him.  Marston  followed  him 
into  the  passage. 

"Well,  it  unearthed  the  lady,"  said  the 
barrister. 

"Yes,  and  I  saw  Yardley  was  there." 

"  So  was  Craven,  his  chief  assistant.  By 
the  way,  what  instructions  did  you  give 
him,  Marston?" 

"  He  is  to  find  out  who  she  is  and  where 
she  lives.  I  wish  she  had  raised  her  veil 
in  court.  I'd  have  liked  to  have  seen 
her." 

"  So  should  I ;  but  I  never  for  a  moment 
expected  that.  She'll  be  much  too  downy 
a  bird.  How  old  would  you  guess  her  to 
be,  Marston?" 

[204] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Forty  to  fifty." 

"  Yes,  that's  what  I  put  her  down  to  be ; 
but  one  really  cannot  tell  under  that  veil 
of  hers.  It's  only  guessing  from  her  fig- 
ure and  manner.  She  might  really  be  any- 
thing from  thirty  to  seventy." 

Late  that  evening  Yardley  came  round 
to  Tempest's  chambers. 

"Well,  who  is  she,  Yardley?"  was  the 
latter's  greeting. 

u  She's  staying  at  the  Hotel  Victoria,  in 
the  name  of  Mrs.  Seymour.  I've  left  Cra- 
ven there,  and  he's  subsidised  one  of  the 
chambermaids  as  well,  so  I  don't  think 
she'll  slip  through  our  fingers." 

"Where  does  she  come  from?" 

"  I  don't  know  for  certain  yet.  She's 
registered  as  from  Paris.  I've  arranged 
that  one  of  my  young  women  shall  go  to  the 
hotel  as  a  chambermaid  to-morrow,  on  the 
chance  of  an  opportunity  of  going  through 
the  lady's  belongings." 
[  205  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Three  days  later  Yardley  again  came 
round  to  see  Tempest,  but  only  to  report  an 
ignominious  failure.  It  was  evident  that 
Mrs.  Seymour  had  become  aware  that  she 
was  being  watched  and  had  made  her  plans 
accordingly. 

Asking  for  a  hansom  to  be  called  one 
morning,  she  had  ostentatiously  given  in- 
structions to  the  hall  porter  that  she  was 
expecting  a  visitor  at  noon,  and,  if  she  her- 
self had  not  returned,  the  visitor  was  to  be 
asked  to  wait.  She  then  gave  the  cabby 
directions  to  go  to  Paquin's  showrooms  in 
Doder  Street,  and  had  driven  away.  Cra- 
ven had  been  inclined  to  follow;  but  feel- 
ing certain  Mrs.  Seymour  would  return,  he 
decided  that  more  was  to  be  gained  by 
overhauling  her  boxes,  and  he  at  once 
sought  his  confederate,  who  was  figuring 
in  the  hotel  as  a  chambermaid.  Together 
they  had  thoroughly  and  systematically 
searched  Mrs.  Seymour's  room.  Not  a 
[  206  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

scrap  of  writing  did  they  find — not  the 
faintest  clue  of  any  sort  from  which  they 
could  start  to  establish  the  identity  of  Mrs. 
Seymour.  Finally,  they  had  relinquished 
the  search  in  disgust,  and  Craven  had  set 
himself  to  await  the  lady's  return.  She 
never  did  return;  and  when  Craven  re- 
ported, Yardley  saw  at  once  that  the  whole 
thing  had  been  a  ruse.  The  cabby,  when 
found  and  questioned,  told  them  that  when 
they  reached  Trafalgar  Square,  his  fare 
had  told  him  to  drive  to  Euston.  He  had 
done  so,  and  the  lady  had  entered  the  sta- 
tion. The  most  diligent  inquiry  failed  to 
produce  any  person  who  had  seen  and  rec- 
ognised or  had  noticed  the  lady  at  the  sta- 
tion. None  of  the  booking-clerks  recog- 
nised her  from  the  description  which  was 
given.  Her  luggage,  which  remained  at 
the  hotel  unclaimed,  contained  nothing  of 
any  sufficient  value  for  it  to  be  in  the  least 
likely  it  would  ever  be  claimed,  if  Yardley 
[207] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

were  correct  in  his  surmise  that  Mrs.  Sey- 
mour had  by  some  means  become  aware 
that  she  herself  was  under  surveillance,  and 
had  deliberately  elected  to  withdraw  her- 
self from  observation. 

The  court  for  Crown  cases  reserved  hav- 
ing decided — much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
police — that  the  privilege  of  a  solicitor 
prevented  the  execution  of  the  search  war- 
rant and  the  overhauling  of  the  papers  of 
the  firm,  the  trial  of  Arthur  Baxter  could 
no  longer  be  delayed,  and  took  its  place  in 
the  judge's  list  at  the  ensuing  sessions  of  the 
Central  Criminal  Court.  At  the  first  ref- 
erence by  the  prosecution  to  the  secret  trust, 
Tempest  successfully  objected.  As  he 
pointed  out,  Baxter  had  only  been  advan- 
taged by  the  action  of  the  Crown,  which 
had,  with  full  knowledge  of  the  conse- 
quence, itself  precipitated  the  circumstan- 
ces, which  vested  the  money  in  the  hands 
of  the  surviving  partners.  That  result 
[208  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Baxter  could  neither  have  produced  nor 
anticipated;  but  for  the  moment  assuming 
he  could  have  produced  it,  then  the  three 
partners  were  equally  concerned,  and  must 
be  equally  guilty;  but  the  Crown  had  only 
indicated  one,  though,  on  an  indictment 
of  the  three  for  conspiracy,  a  conviction 
would  have  been  more  easy  to  procure. 
Finally,  he  said  that  if  his  lordship  admit- 
ted any  reference  to  the  secret  trust  on  the 
ground  of  motive,  then  he  should  at  once 
call  the  other  surviving  partners  to  prove 
that  no  one  of  the  three  had  ever  even  sug- 
gested the  division  of  the  trust  money,  even 
after  the  court  had  formally  declared  it  to 
be  the  absolute  property  of  the  partners; 
but  that  they  had  voluntarily  reconstituted 
the  trust,  or  rather  had  themselves  consti- 
tuted a  trust  for  purposes  which  they  de- 
clined to  divulge,  but  which  advantaged 
themselves  personally  no  more  than  had 
the  original  will.  In  the  end  the  judge 
[209] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

upheld  the  objection.  The  trial  was  thus 
narrowed  down  to  the  fact  that  the  partners 
possessed  keys,  and  could  have  obtained  ac- 
cess; that  Baxter  had  been  overheard  to 
have  had  a  difference  with  Sir  John,  when 
the  latter  had  called  at  his  chambers  the 
night  preceding  the  murder;  and,  what 
was  most  damning,  that  a  revolver,  with 
its  marks  of  identification  erased,  together 
with  bullets  similar  to  the  one  which  had 
caused  the  death*- of  Sir  John  Rellingham, 
had  been  found  at  Mr.  Baxter's  chambers 
secreted  in  a  seldom  used  suit-case. 

The  case  at  best  was  a  weak  one;  and 
doubtless  relying  upon  the  fact  that  Arthur 
Baxter  would  go  into  the  witness-box  and 
might  convict  himself  under  cross-exami- 
nation, the  ruling  out  of  the  question  of  the 
secret  trust  seriously  handicapped  the  pros- 
ecution. Tempest  had  frankly  told  Bax- 
ter he  didn't  believe  the  explanation  of  the 
quarrel  which  the  solicitor  had  vouchsafed 
[210] 


THE     DUPLICATE    DEATH 

him,  but  Baxter  declined  to  give  any  other. 
For  that  reason  the  barrister  was  surprised 
that  only  one  or  two  formal  questions  re- 
lating to  the  quarrel  were  put  to  Bailey,  the 
factotum  of  Arthur  Baxter,  and  one  of  the 
witnesses  called  for  the  prosecution.  Con- 
sequently Tempest  asked  Baxter  no  ques- 
tions on  the  point  when  he  put  him  in  the 
witness-box.  But  the  matter  was  raised  and 
pressed  in  his  cross-examination.  Ques- 
tion after  question  he  cleverly  fenced  with; 
but  at  last,  driven  into  a  corner,  he  gave  a 
full  explanation :  "  I  have  tried  to  keep 
faith  with  Sir  John,"  he  said;  "but  you 
won't  let  me.  The  point  was  simply  this: 
Sir  John  called  at  my  chambers,  and  asked 
me  if  I  would  marry  his  daughter. 
Neither  I  nor  my  partners  at  that  time  had 
the  smallest  idea  that  Sir  John  had  ever 
been  married  except  to  his  late  wife,  whom 
we  all  knew,  or  had  ever  had  a  daughter; 
and  when  I  was  talking  to  him,  I  didn't 
[211] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

know  whether  his  daughter  were  illegiti- 
mate or  legitimate.  He  showed  me  her 
portrait.  She  was  a  very  beautiful  girl; 
but  all  I  felt  inclined  to  promise  was  that 
I  was  quite  willing  to  meet  her,  with  the 
idea  of  marriage,  if  we  mutually  liked 
each  other,  and  providing  all  knowledge 
was  kept  from  her  until  after  marriage  that 
she  had  been  the  subject  of  discussion  and 
arrangement  between  us.  I  wanted  to  win 
the  affection  of  the  girl  on  my  own  merits, 
or  else  I  would  be  no  party  to  such  a  mar- 
riage." 

"But,  Mr.  Baxter,"  had  been  counsel's 
reply,  "  you  say  Sir  John  was  asking  a  fa- 
vour of  you,  or  requesting  you  to  fall  in 
with  a  proposal  of  his?  How  do  you  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  it  was  Sir  John  who 
said,  'No,  Arthur;  don't  say  any  more. 
It's  quite  final.  I  will  not'?  You  admit, 
I  suppose,  that  he  did  say  that?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  he  said  it." 

[212] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Well,  then,  how  do  you  reconcile  that 
with  your  story?  " 

"  I  asked  him  if  he  would  acknowledge 
the  girl  openly  as  his  daughter.  He 
wouldn't.  I  tried  to  persuade  him,  and 
then  he  answered  in  the  words  you  put  to 
me." 

Then  came  a  searching  cross-examina- 
tion about  the  two  bills.  Baxter  explained 
the  second  one  by  saying  he  was  acting  for 
the  late  Lord  Deverell.  The  other  bill, 
which  had  reached  the  money-lenders  who 
had  discounted  it,  with  a  request  written 
in  the  name  of  the  firm,  Baxter  absolutely 
repudiated  any  knowledge  of.  He  like- 
wise disclaimed  the  slightest  knowledge  of 
the  revolver  or  the  bullets,  and  emphatic- 
ally denied  having  himself  hidden  them  in 
the  suit-case. 

Tempest  then  called  clerks  in  the  office 
of  the  firm  to  prove  that  the  letter  to  the 
money-lenders  was  not  in  the  handwriting 
[213  1 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

of  Mr.  Baxter  or  of  any  of  the  firm's  clerks, 
and  then  played  his  trump  card.  Calling 
an  expert,  he  proved  that  the  revolver  was 
of  faulty  construction,  and  that  it  had 
never  been  fired,  and  that  it  would  have 
been  quite  impossible  for  the  bullet  which 
killed  Sir  John  Rellingham  to  have  been 
fired  from  it. 

"  What  would  happen  if  the  attempt  had 
been  made?" 

"  It  would  have  burst." 

"Why?" 

"Because  the  barrel  of  the  revolver  is 
imperfectly  bored,  and  at  one  point  the 
bullet  could  not  have  passed  through." 

The  revolver,  a  bullet,  and  a  ramrod 
were  then  passed  to  the  jury,  to  satisfy 
themselves  on  the  point. 

With  this  disclosure  the  case  for  the  pros- 
ecution practically  collapsed;  and  though 
it  pursued  its  formal  course,  to  its  comple- 
tion, there  remained  no  further  doubt  that 
[214]. 


THE     DUPLICATE    DEATH 

the  verdict  would  be  one  of  acquittal,  as 
eventually  it  proved  to  be.  Arthur  Bax- 
ter left  the  court  a  free  man,  honourably 
acquitted. 

When  the  partners  and  Tempest  were 
discussing  the  trial  that  evening  over  the 
dinner  which  Marston  gave  to  celebrate 
the  result  of  the  trial,  Tempest  turned  to 
Baxter  and  asked: 

"Why  on  earth  wouldn't  you  tell  me  be- 
fore what  that  discussion  was  that  you  had 
with  Sir  John?" 

"  Simply  because  he  said  the  disclosure 
would  be  the  disclosure  of  a  secret,  not  of 
his  own,  but  of  somebody  else  whom  he 
couldn't  give  away." 

"Ah!    Then  I  guessed  right?" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

And  then  Tempest  explained  how  he 
Had  argued  himself  into  the  conclusion  that 
the  secret  trust  had  been  constituted  to  pro- 
vide for  Sir  John's  daughter,  and  arranged 

[  215  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

in  its  curious  form  that  the  secret  of  a  third 
party  might  be  safeguarded. 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  all  that,  Tem- 
pest?" 

"  I  told  Marston,  but  I  didn't  see  at  the 
time  how  it  affected  you.  Did  Sir  John 
tell  you  who  his  daughter  was,  or  what  the 
name  was  that  she  was  known  by?  " 

"No,  he  wouldn't  tell  me  even  that,  un- 
less I  would  promise  blindly  to  marry  her. 
As  I  said  in  court,  I  only  promised  condi- 
tionally, and  Sir  John  said  that  he  must  re- 
fuse to  tell  me  her  name." 

"  Marston,  show  him  Sir  John's  watch." 

The  solicitor  took  the  watch  from  his 
chain  and  passed  it  across  the  table  to  his 
partner. 

"That's  the  girl  whose  portrait  he 
showed  me,  though  the  face  is  in  a  different 
position." 

"No,  Baxter,  it  isn't  the  same  girl.  The 
portrait  in  the  watch  is  an  exact  duplicate 
1 216  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

of  a  miniature  I  have  hanging  in  my  cham- 
bers. Twenty  years  ago  I  had  a  watching 
brief  at  the  inquest  of  Dolores  Alvarez,  an 
actress " 

"  I  remember  the  case.  Verdict  of  sui- 
cide, wasn't  it?" 

"  Yes,  that  was  it.  It  was  my  first  cause 
celebre.  I  saw  the  dead  woman,  and  was 
very  much  struck  by  her  beauty.  I  col- 
lected all  the  photographs  I  could  pur- 
chase of  her,  and  I  had  a  miniature  painted 
from  them.  It  was  not  exactly  like  any  of 
the  photographs,  and  I  was  puzzled  how 
Sir  John  could  have  got  hold  of  what  was 
undoubtedly  a  copy  of  my  miniature  till  I 
made  inquiries.  Then  I  found  that  the 
firm — a  big  firm  of  photographers,  whom 
I  had  commissioned — had  been  so  struck 
by  the  miniature  that  they  had  ordered  a 
copy  of  it  from  the  artist,  and  they  had  ex- 
hibited this  copy  as  a  specimen.  Sir  John 
had  seen  it  and  bought  it.  Consequently, 
[217] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Baxter,  the  portrait  in  Sir  John's  watch 
was  to  him  a  fancy  portrait,  which  I  as- 
sume he  must  have  bought  on  account  of 
its  likeness  to  his  wife — oh,  yes,  he  was 
married  twice.  We  got  the  certificate  of 
his  first  marriage  all  right — for  a  man 
would  hardly  carry  about  inside  his  watch 
a  definite  portrait  of  a  person  in  whom  he 
had  no  interest.  Besides,  Baxter,  I  can 
probably  tell  you  who  Sir  John's  daughter 
was.  She  was  Evangeline  Stableford — the 
actress — the  adopted  daughter  of  old  Lady 
Stableford.  She  was  the  living  image  of 
Dolores  Alvarez,  and  she  was  murdered  a 
few  months  ago — since  the  death  of  Sir 
John,  in  fact.  The  curious  thing  is,  that 
every  detail  and  every  circumstance  of  her 
death  exactly  reproduces  the  death  of  Do- 
lores Alvarez  twenty  years  ago." 

"Were  the  two  women  related,  Tem- 
pest?" 

"The  likeness  is  so  remarkable  that  I 

I  218  1 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

think  they  must  have  been ;  but,  as  a  matter 
of  actual  fact,  I  cannot  prove  it.  Evange- 
line was  certainly  not  the  daughter  of  Do- 
lores. The  only  relative  I  have  unearthed 
of  Dolores  is  Lady  Madeley;  and  from  the 
date  of  Lady  Madeley's  wedding  and  the 
date  of  Evangeline's  birth,  she  could  not 
have  been  the  child  of  Lady  Madeley.  Be- 
sides, Sir  John  didn't  marry  a  Miss  Alva- 
rez. The  maiden  name  of  Lady  Relling- 
ham,  for  I  daresay  she  is  still  alive,  or  Sir 
John  wouldn't  have  guarded  her  secret  so 
closely,  was  Sarah  Jane  Manuel." 

"  But  Alvarez  may  have  been  only  a  the- 
atrical name?" 

"That's  quite  possible — likely  even; 
only,  Lady  Madeley  is  married  in  the  name 
of  Alvarez.  There's  such  a  widespread 
idea,  particularly  in  the  lower  classes,  that 
a  marriage  in  a  false  name  is  invalid,  that 
I  hardly  think  it  probable  that  Lady  Mad- 
eley would  have  risked  the  validity  of  her 
[  219  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE    DEATH 

marriage  by  going  through  the  ceremony 
in  any  other  than  her  real  name.  She  may 
have  done  so,  of  course;  but  the  probabili- 
ties are  vastly  to  the  contrary.  Frankly, 
Baxter,  the  idea  of  relationship  rests  exclu- 
sively upon  the  likeness." 

"Yes,  that  must  be  so;  besides,  assume 
Dolores  and  Evangeline  were  related. 
What's  the  nearest  possible  relationship? 
You  say  they  can't  be  mother  and  daugh- 
ter. The  next  nearest  relationship  is  aunt 
and  niece,  on  the  supposition  that  Lady 
Rellingham  is  an  undiscovered  sister  of 
Lady  Madeley  and  Dolores  Alvarez.  You 
must  take  into  account  that  it  is  not  an  iden- 
tity of  parentage.  Evangeline  is  only  a 
daughter  of  a  supposed  sister  and  Sir  John. 
You  must  make  allowance  for  her  descent 
from  Sir  John  as  well." 

"No,  I  don't  think  you  need  Ho  that. 
Given  a  parent  of  a  pronounced  type — what 
one  would  call  an  aggressive  type — that 

[  220  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

type  will  be  reproduced  and  the  type  of  the 
other  parent  submerged  altogether.  Prob- 
ably Evangeline  exactly  reproduced  her 
mother.  She  had  nothing  of  Sir  John  in 
her  appearance.  Here  I'll  show  you  what 
I  mean.    Waiter!" 

The  obsequious  servant  hurried  forward. 

"  Send  out  and  buy  me  a  copy  of  this 
week's  Sketch,  will  you?"  and  Tempest 
handed  a  coin  to  the  man. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  latter  reap- 
peared with  the  paper  for  which  the  bar- 
rister had  asked.  He  rapidly  turned  the 
pages.  "Now  this,"  he  said,  "is  what  I 
mean.  Here  is  a  portrait  of  the  young 
Lady  Madeley — Consuelo,  Baroness  Mad- 
eley  in  her  own  right,  the  daughter  of  Eu- 
lalie  Alvarez." 

Folding  the  paper  he  indicated  the  por- 
trait to  which  he  referred.  "  You  see,"  he 
added,  "  that's  awfully  like  Dolores. 
There's  the  same  type  again,  submerging 

[221] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

any  likelihood  of  a  likeness  to  the  other 
parent,  for  old  Lord  Madeley  was  fair  and 
fat  and  podgy — blue  eyes,  as  a  matter  of 
fact.  Sir  John  was  fair,  and  his  features 
were  very  indefinite.  Evangeline's  mother 
and  Lady  Madeley,  even  if  there  were  no 
relationship,  were  of  the  same  physiolog- 
ical type,  and  that  an  aggressive  one,  and 
you  see  the  type  reproduces  itself.  I'm  al- 
most beginning  to  think  it  must  be  merely 
type  and  domination  of  type,  and  that 
alone,  with  no  question  of  consanguinity. 
Besides,  when  all's  said  and  done,  it's  a  for- 
eign type." 
"  But  what  does  that  matter?" 
"What  I  mean  is  this:  Just  as  all  nig- 
gers look  alike  to  an  Englishman,  and  just 
as  we  find  it  hard  to  distinguish  one  China- 
man from  another,  so  a  strange  type  to  us 
overrides  in  our  observations  the  little  dif- 
ferences by  which  in  our  own  type  we  dis- 
tinguish one  another  and  recognise  each 
[222] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

other.  Therefore,  may  not  this  type — 
Spanish,  I  suppose  it  must  be,  from  the 
name  Alvarez — override,  in  our  observa- 
tion (from  the  fact  that  it  is  foreign  and 
unusual),  the  little  niceties  of  difference 
by  which  those  who  belonged  to  the  type 
would  themselves  differentiate?" 

"Then,  do  you  mean  that  these  people 
may  not  really  be  so  alike  as  we  think  they 
are?" 

"That's  precisely  what  I  do  mean. 
Here  we  have  apparently  Eulalie  Lady 
Madeley,  and  Dolores  Alvarez,  and  Con- 
suelo  Lady  Madeley,  whom  we  know  to  be 
related,  all  very  much  alike.  We  have 
Lady  Rellingham  and  another  girl,  Evan- 
geline Stableford,  and  yet  another,  Sir 
John's  daughter,  if  they  are  not  one  and 
the  same,  though  I  am  sure  they  are.  We 
are  trying  to  presume  an  Alvarez  relation- 
ship for  Evangeline,  solely  on  account  of 
her  remarkable  likeness  and  the  presumed 

[223] 


the   duplicate  death 

likeness  of  Lady  Rellingham.  There  is 
not  one  other  single  solitary  reason  from 
which  relationship  can  be  presumed;  and 
after  all,  to  a  person  familiar  with  the  type, 
the  likeness  might  not  be  so  pronounced  as 
to  us  it  appears  to  be.  To  a  Spaniard,  for 
instance,  it  might  not  be  sufficient  to  even 
suggest  relationship.  You've  always  got 
to  bear  that  in  mind.  So  long  as  the  iden- 
tity of  Evangeline  was  a  mystery,  we  had 
to  clutch  at  any  straw  that  might  prove 
who  she  was,  and  perhaps  I  attached  too 
great  an  importance  to  the  likeness.  It  is 
nothing  like  so  important  now  we  are  prac- 
tically certain  Evangeline  was  Sir  John's 
daughter  and  that  we  know  who  her 
mother  was.  Besides,  Lady  Rellingham's 
name  was  Manuel.  That  name  is  Spanish 
or  Portuguese,  and  very  likely  Jewish  as 
well,  which  accounts  for  the  occurrence  of 
the  type,  and,  as  I  said,  the  likeness  may 
be  no  more  than  identity  of  type." 

[224] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Tempest,"  said  Marston,  "I'm  begin- 
ning to  understand  your  wonderful  success 
with  juries.  We  argued  this  likeness  point 
once  before,  when  you  were  putting  for- 
ward a  very  different  theory.  I  thor- 
oughly accepted  what  you  said  then,  but 
you  have  convinced  me  just  as  thoroughly 
of  your  new  proposition." 

The  barrister  laughed.  "  I'll  tell  you 
the  secret  of  that.  There  are  weak  points 
in  both  propositions,  because  there  is  in 
each  an  unknown  quantity,  and  one  argues 
on  the  '  may '  and  the  c  might '  and  the 
*  probable.'  One  can  always  persuade  a 
reasonable  man  that  a  thing  'may'  be  so,  if 
the  proposition  you  offer  is  plausible  and 
not  self-negatived.  But  when  you  lay 
down  a  proposition  as  not  only  possible  but 
unquestionably  correct,  and  one  goes  on  to 
the  words  '  is '  and  '  must  be '  and  '  there- 
fore,' one  needs  to  prove  things.  How- 
ever, what  are  we  going  to  do  to-night? 

[225] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

What  do  you  say,  Baxter?  How  about  the 
Palace?" 

Baxter  shivered.  "  Don't  let  me  stop 
you  others,  if  you  want  to  go;  but  I  don't 
feel  up  to  it.  God  I  It's  only  a  few  hours 
since  the  noose  was  around  my  neck,  and  I 
haven't  got  over  the  horror  of  it  yet." 

The  others  looked  at  him  with  sympa- 
thy. They  had  been  ready  enough  to  for- 
get what  was  over  and  done  with. 

"But  I  told  you  yesterday,  Baxter,  that 
I  would  get  you  off.  Didn't  you  believe  I 
could?" 

"It  wasn't  you  I  doubted,  Tempest;  it 
was  the  jury.  One  does  get  such  damned 
fools  sometimes  as  jurymen,  and  there's  an 
awful  lot  of  prejudice  against  us.  That 
newspaper  campaign  was  carried  to  ghastly 
lengths.  Tempest,  have  you  got  any 
nearer  in  your  own  way  to  solving  the 
mystery  of  either  Sir  John's  death  or  Evan- 
geline's death?" 

[226] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  No,  not  an  inch  nearer;  except  that  I'm 
pretty  certain  Evangeline  was  Sir  John's 
daughter.  At  present  it's  arguing  with 
several  unknown  quantities.  Still,  one 
has  got  a  bit  of  a  foundation  now.  Sir 
John  has  been  proved  to  have  married  a 
certain  Sarah  Jane  Manuel." 

"  Then  Sarah  Jane  Manuel  was  Evange- 
line's mother,  Q.  E.  D.?  Go  along,  Tem- 
pest!" 

"  How  do  you  know,  Marston?  I  don't 
feel  by  any  means  certain  on  the  point. 
Look  here,  then,  why  didn't  Sir  John  ac- 
knowledge his  wife  and  daughter?  He 
told  you,  Baxter,  that  he  couldn't  because 
that  would  involve  the  disclosure  of  some- 
body else's  secret.  If  she  were  his  daugh- 
ter by  his  wedded  wife,  what  secret  could 
there  be  about  her  birth?  I  can  assure 
you  that  it  looks  very  much  as  if  Evange- 
line were  his  illegitimate  daughter.  Only, 
if  she  were,  what  earthly  object  could  any; 
[  227  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

one  have  in  murdering  her?  Sir  John  had 
left  her  nothing  in  his  will.  She  was  not 
his  heir.     She  stood  in  no  one's  way." 

"Why  didn't  Sir  John  provide  for  her, 
Tempest?  He  was  a  just,  honourable 
man,  with  plenty  of  money.  He  leaves  the 
whole  of  his  money  practically  to  us — the 
three  of  us;  and  none  of  us  had  any  claim 
on  him.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  the 
contrary.  We  were  all  indebted  to  Sir 
John." 

"But  you've  forgotten  the  probability  is 
that  Sir  John  did  provide  for  her  by  means 
of  the  secret  trust.  Evangeline  was  ex- 
pected to  be  the  heir  of  Lady  Stableford. 
Here,  of  course,  it  won't  go  any  further. 
You  fellows  have  got  the  old  lady's  will  at 
your  office.    Now,  did  she  provide  for  the 

girl?" 

"Yes.  Sir  John  drew  her  will,  so  he 
knew  what  she  had  done." 

"Quite  so;  and  if  she  did  provide,  Sir 
[228] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

John  was  under  no  necessity  to  disclose  the 
other  person's  secret,  which  he  was  guard- 
ing, by  providing  for  the  girl  in  his  own 
will.  But  Evangeline  had  quarrelled  once 
with  Lady  Stableford,  and  had  been  cut 
out  of  the  will  once  before.  There  was  al- 
ways the  risk  of  another  quarrel  and  the 
same  thing  happening  again.  That  was 
the  risk  for  which  the  secret  trust  provides 
— of  that  I'm  positive  now.  Yes,  I  think 
we  can  take  that  as  certain ; "  and  the  bar- 
rister, lighting  another  of  his  eternal  ciga- 
rettes, tilted  his  chair  back  and  lapsed  into 
silence  as  he  thought. 

The  other  men  kept  silent.  Tempest 
was  so  obviously  puzzling  the  thing  out 
further.  At  last  Marston  broke  the  si- 
lence. "Granted  all  that,  Tempest.  But 
what  on  earth  was  the  good  to  Evangeline 
of  creating  that  trust  at  all,  if  we,  the  trus- 
tees, don't  know  when  we  are  to  call  it  into 
operation  for  her  benefit?  " 
[229] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"Don't  you  forget  your  instructions.  You 
were  to  wait  till  something  happened  from 
outside,  to  put  you  all  in  motion.  You 
must  assume  Sir  John  had  laid  his  plans 
for  this  something  to  be  made  to  happen,  if 
necessary.  As  he  would  then  be  dead,  the 
making  of  the  happening  rested  with  some 
third  person,  probably  Evangeline  herself. 
Have  you  .fellows  forgotten  the  basis  of  a 
cryptogram?  The  key  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  and  those  two  parts  must  come  to- 
gether in  unison  before  the  key  is  apparent. 
You  three  have  one  part  of  the  cryptogram 
in  your  hands  contained  in  your  instruc- 
tions. It  was  probable  Evangeline  had 
the  other  part.  She  was  probably  to  write 
to  you,  if  through  a  change  of  Lady  Stable- 
ford's  will  she  needed  the  money.  She  is 
dead.  She  will  never  claim  the  money, 
and  you  three  can  spend  it  now  with  a  light 
heart.  Still,  here's  another  thing.  If 
Evangeline  knew  all,  and  could  call  that 
[230] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

trust  into  operation  merely  by  writing  to 
you,  what  was  to  prevent  her  doing  so, 
whether  she  needed  the  money  or  not? 
If  Sir  John  left  things  in  that  state,  the  se- 
cret was  at  the  mercy  of  Evangeline,  and 
I  don't  think  it  was  her  secret.  She  may 
not  have  known  what  the  secret  was,  nor 
indeed  that  there  was  one  at  all,  but  never- 
theless its  disclosure  rested  with  her. 
There  was  probably  a  third  part  to  the 
cryptogram  in  the  hands  of  some  one  else." 

"Who  would  that  be  likely  to  be?" 

"  Probably  the  person  whose  secret  it 
was?" 

"  But  if  that  were  so,  what  would  the  in- 
ducement be  to  her  to  ever  disclose  her  se- 
cret?" 

"One  or  other  of  two  things.  Either 
she  is  to  participate  in  the  trust,  or  else  Sir 
John  depended  on  the  affection  of  a  mother 
to  efface  herself  for  her  child  in  case  of 
dire  necessity.  Remember,  it's  only  a  dis- 
[231] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

closure  to  you  three,  and  that's  not  a  very 
serious  risk.     Few  people  need  mind  that." 

"Then,  why  didn't  Sir  John  disclose  it 
to  us?" 

"  Firstly,  his  loyalty  regarding  the  secret 
of  another  person;  secondly,  the  risk  run 
by  putting  it  on  paper,  when  very  likely, 
in  all  probability,  he  would  outlive  Lady 
Stableford,  and  himself  know  whether  or 
not  Evangeline  had  been  provided  for;  be- 
cause, if  in  his  lifetime  he  knew  Lady  Sta- 
bleford had  left  her  money  to  Evangeline, 
the  trust  was  quite  unnecessary,  and  Sir 
John  would  at  once  have  destroyed  his 
present  will  and  made  another.  Now,  as- 
suming all  that  to  be  true,  who  stood  to 
benefit  by  Evangeline's  death?  " 

"We  three  did." 

"Quite  so.  Consequently  it  was  jolly 
lucky  for  Baxter  the  terms  of  the  trust  are 
not  public." 

"God!  Tempest.  What  a  risk  I  ran!" 
[  232  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"You  did  at  first,  old  man.  But  there 
was  somebody  else  who  would  benefit.  If 
Evangeline  were  illegitimate,  the  person 
whose  secret  was  at  stake  might  desire  her 
death.  If  Evangeline  were  legitimate,  her 
heir  would  benefit.  In  either  case  it  is  the 
mother.  Now,  didn't  I  tell  you  once  be- 
fore— argued  from  a  totally  different 
standpoint — that  Evangeline's  mother  had 
murdered  her?" 

"  But  it's  such  a  horrible  thought,  Tem- 
pest, that  a  mother  would  murder  her  own 
child!" 

"  I  know  it  is ;  but  horrible  or  not,  Mar- 
ston,  it's  a  thing  done  every  day.  Scarcely 
a  session  at  the  Old  Bailey  goes  by  that 
some  poor  wretched  girl  or  other  isn't  tak- 
ing her  trial  for  it.  We  generally  get  them 
let  off  as  Not  Guilty,  or  else  only  guilty  of 
concealment  of  birth,  and  then  they  are 
usually  discharged.  But  it's  generally 
murder  all  the  same.  We  all  know  it — 
[233] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  police  know  it — and  the  judge  knows  it; 
but  there  is  a  kind  of  unwritten  code  that 
in  cases  of  infanticide  the  girl  is  to  get  off, 
if  the  facts  can  in  any  way  be  sufficiently 
twisted." 

14  But  Evangeline  wasn't  an  infant." 

44  No ;  but  you  were  objecting  only  on  the 
score  of  maternal  feeling.  With  an  infant, 
the  maternal  feeling  is  often  overcome; 
and  as  Evangeline's  mother  got  rid  of  her 
as  an  infant,  the  maternal  feeling  can't 
have  been  any  greater.  It  never  had  any 
opportunity  of  growing." 

"Then  you  think,  Tempest,  that  if  we 
find  Evangeline's  mother,  that  we  shall 
have  got  to  the  solution  of  the  girl's  mur- 
der?" 

44  You'll  have  got  the  guilty  person ;  but 
assuming  you  do  get  hold  of  her,  I  don't 
see  how  you  will  ever  convict  her  or  get  a 
full  solution,  except  by  means  of  a  confes- 


sion." 


I  234  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  Tempest,  how  about  the  murder  of  Sir 
John?  That  is  what  we  are  most  con- 
cerned about." 

"Yes,  I  know;  and  it  puzzles  me  far 
more  than  the  other  one.  Outside  you 
three,  what  earthly  object  could  anyone 
have  had  in  murdering  him?  Any  client 
with  a  grievance  has  got  to  murder  all  the 
lot  of  you,  either  to  wreak  a  revenge  for  a 
business  grievance  to  alter  the  course  of  any 
events." 

"  But,  Tempest,  we  haven't  got  such  a 
client.  We  scarcely  ever  litigate  in  the 
ordinary  sense.  Chancery  motions,  by 
mutual  arrangement  to  get  orders  of  the 
court,  and  that  kind  of  thing,  don't  beget 
clients  or  opponents  with  a  grievance.  Our 
business  is  conveyancing  and  trust  work 
and  family  settlements.  In  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  firm,  we've  never  quarrelled 
with  a  client  over  his  or  her  account." 

"  Then  you  are  arguing  yourselves  a  bit 
[  235  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

closer.  I'm  certain  of  this  much.  Sir 
John  had  an  appointment  at  the  office  that 
evening  with  some  one  over  a  matter  which 
was  not  the  business  of  the  firm.  If 
Smith's  tale  be  true,  Smith  was  practically 
made  to  clear  out.  Therefore,  Sir  John 
himself  answers  the  door  and  admits  some- 
body. That  somebody  shoots  him,  and  lets 
himself  or  herself  out  afterwards,  taking 
the  revolver  with  him.  As  far  as  I  can  see, 
that  is  all  you  are  justified  as  taking  to  be 
provable  by  deduction,  and  you  must  start 
guessing.  Now,  what  was  the  only  thing 
we  are  any  of  us  aware  of  that  Sir  John  was 
keeping  secret?" 

"  His  secret  trust." 

"Well,  put  it  rather  the  secret  of  this 
other  person  to  safeguard,  which  Sir  John 
created,  the  secret  trust?  " 

"What  next?" 

"Who  were  the  people  who  knew  the 

secret?" 

[236] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  Sir  John." 

"Yes,  and  also  the  person  it  concerned, 
and  perhaps  Evangeline  Stableford,  too, 
though  I  rather  doubt  if  she  knew  the 
whole  or  indeed  very  much  of  it.  Now,  as 
I've  told  you,  I  believe  it  to  be  Evange- 
line's mother  whose  secret  is  being  safe- 
guarded." 

"Then  do  you  say  it  was  Evangeline's 
mother  who  murdered  Sir  John?" 

"Oh,  wait  a  bit!  What  was  to  prevent 
Sir  John  having  arranged  a  meeting  be- 
tween the  two  of  them  there  in  his  pres- 
ence, to  make  arrangements  about  calling 
the  trust  into  operation,  if  it  were  ever  nec- 
essary? Let's  assume  he  did.  Assume 
they  met  there,  which  of  them  would  be  the 
more  likely  to  shoot  him?" 

"The  daughter,"  said  Marston. 

"Why  do  you  think  that?  " 

"  She  murdered  him  and  then  committed 
suicide." 

[  ssr  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Tempest  shook  his  head.  "  No,  I  think 
you  are  wrong.  The  mother  shot  Sir  John 
in  the  presence  of  her  daughter;  then  she 
murders  the  daughter  as  well,  to  cover  up 
the  disclosure.  Voila  tout.  There  you 
have  a  complete  explanation — a  logical  ex- 
planation, and  a  sufficient  one  for  both 
murders." 

"  Tempest,  I  believe  you've  hit  it." 

"  I  may  have  done ;  but  it's  all  pure  guess- 
work.    It  won't  hang  her." 

"How  did  she  put  the  revolver  in  my 
suit-case?" 

"God  knows,  old  man!  That  I  fancy 
will  always  be  a  mystery.  When  was  the 
revolver  put  there?" 

"  I  wish  I  knew." 

"  If  the  woman  had  thought,  as  she  prob- 
ably did,  she  would  know  that  you,  with  a 
man  servant,  would  never  pack  for  your- 
self. She  couldn't  know  which  bag  you 
used,  nor  could  she  know  when  you  would 
[  238  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

use  any  particular  one.  If  she  put  that 
revolver  there  any  long  time  afterwards, 
she  must  have  guessed  that  the  veriest  fool 
would  know  that  Bailey  might  have  packed 
and  unpacked  in  the  interval,  and  could 
swear  to  the  absence  of  the  revolver  on  the 
days  he  packed  and  unpacked  for  you.  No, 
she  probably  put  it  there  soon  after  the 
murder — probably  when  Bailey's  wife  was 
away.  That  was  soon  after  the  murder 
was  committed.  It's  quite  likely  you  were 
watched." 

"  But  why  should  she  pitch  upon  me?" 
"  Because  the  first  person  suspected  of  an 
unexplained  murder  is  a  person  who  would 
stand  to  profit  by  the  death.  Don't  forget 
she  knew  the  broad  outlines  of  the  secret 
trust — probably  was  the  only  person  to 
know  them — and  knew  you  three  would 
benefit  greatly.  Any  one  of  you  three  would 
satisfy  her  purpose.  She  simply  followed 
the  line  of  least  resistance." 

[239] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  But  you  are  making  her  out,  and  assum- 
ing her  to  be,  as  clever  as  yourself  in  think- 
ing things  out.  It's  a  wrong  presumption, 
Tempest.  I  think  I'd  pass  for  a  man  of 
average  intelligence  any  day,  but  I  should 
never  have  thought  of  half  the  things 
you've  laid  down." 

"No!  no!  Baxter.  You  may  be  a  wee 
bit  surprised  at  my  thinking  them  out — you 
may,  even  as  you  say,  have  failed  to  do  it 
yourself,  but  the  surprise  to  you  rests  on  the 
arrival  at  the  conclusion  from  apparently 
unknown  premises.  You  must  remember 
there  was  nothing  unknown  to  her,  whilst 
we  are  groping  in  the  dark.  She  was  in 
the  full  light  of  a  complete  knowledge  of 
all  the  facts.  I  wish  I  knew  whether  the 
woman  were  Sir  John's  wife,  or  the  mother 
of  Evangeline,  or  a  third  person  altogether. 
She  may  be  both  wife  and  mother.  What 
I  advise  you  to  do  now  is  to  search  again 
for   the   birth   of    Evangeline   under   the 

[240] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

names  of  Manuel  and  Rellingham.  Search 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and 
France  and  Belgium  and  Holland.  There's 
hardly  time  enough  for  her  to  have  been 
born  further  afield." 

"  Is  that  all  we  can  do?  " 

"Well,  one  step  at  a  time  isn't  a  bad 
plan.  But  as  it  happens  there  is  something 
else  you  can  do.  Look  here !  Assume  that 
I  am  right,  and  that  the  interview  with 
one  or  both  of  the  women  took  place  in 
reference  to  the  trust.  It's  a  big  assump- 
tion of  course;  but  take  it  for  granted  for 
the  moment.  Why  did  Sir  John  provoke  or 
permit  that  interview?  Lady  Stableford 
had  altered  her  will,  cutting  out  Evange- 
line nearly  two  years  before;  yet  Sir  John 
took  no  steps.  His  will  was  certainly  in 
existence  some  time  before  his  death;  but, 
as  I  explained  to  you,  one,  if  not  two, 
other  people  had  to  be  let  into  their 
share  of  the  cryptogram.  If  they  knew 
[241] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

before,  we  can  hardly  presume  the  meeting 
to  have  a  reference  to  this  point.  On  the 
other  hand,  why  have  the  meeting  at  all, 
when  Evangeline  would  come  of  age  so 
soon  after?  The  moment  she  came  of  age 
Sir  John  could  have  given  her  the  money 
without  any  other  explanation  than  that  he 
was  her  father.  He  needn't  even  have  told 
her  that  much.  Any  tale  would  have  done, 
and  he  had  plenty  of  money  to  provide  for 
her  in  cash,  and  might  just  as  well  have 
done  so,  instead  of  putting  the  money  in 
the  trust.  Why  didn't  he  wait  a  few 
months  longer?  He  had  already  waited 
twenty  years.  He  wasn't  an  old  man — 
only  fifty-five.  Why  should  he  have  antic- 
ipated his  own  death?" 

"Goodness  only  knows!  But  go  on.  I 
can  see  you've  got  some  idea.  Out  with 
it." 

"Who  was  Sir  John's  doctor?" 

[242  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Old  Allingham  of  Harley  Street." 
"  I  don't  know  the  gentleman ;  but  go  to 
him,  and  ask  him  whether,  at  any  time 
shortly  before  his  death,  Sir  John  consulted 
him?  I  expect  you  will  find  Allingham 
told  him  his  heart  was  affected.  If  he  did, 
then  you  have  the  reason  why  Sir  John  pre- 
cipitated the  matter.  And  mind  you,  if 
you  do  find  that  to  be  true,  it's  pretty  good 
confirmation  that  all  the  rest  of  the  supposi- 
tion I  put  to  you  will  hold  water." 

Soon  afterwards  the  party  broke  off,  and 
Tempest  heard  no  more  of  the  matter  until 
ten  days  later,  when  Baxter  called  to  show 
him  a  copy  of  the  birth-certificate  of  an 
unnamed  female  child,  born  in  Dublin  on 
the  1 8th  of  August,  1881,  and  registered  as 
the  daughter  of  John  Rellingham,  solicitor, 
and  Sarah  Jane,  formerly  Manuel.  Tempest 
laughed  as  he  read  the  certificate  through. 
"  Isn't  it  funny,"  he  said,  "  that  when  we 

[243] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

were  hunting  high  and  low  for  the  birth 
of  that  child,  it  never  entered  our  heads  to 
look  for  a  daughter  of  Sir  John?  She's 
registered  in  the  right  name,  too." 

"  I've  seen  Allingham.  You  were  quite 
right  in  your  guess.  He  thoroughly  ex- 
amined Sir  John  about  a  month  before  the 
date  of  the  murder.  It  wasn't  heart  dis- 
ease. It  was  cancer  of  the  throat.  He 
told  Sir  John  he  could  count  on  at  least 
three  months.  He  strongly  advised  an 
operation,  and  Sir  John  was  very  much 
inclined  to  agree;  in  fact  it  was  almost 
arranged,  but  it  would  have  been  a  very 
risky  operation." 

"Then,  that's  why  he  was  making  his 
arrangements?  Didn't  he  say  anything  to 
any  of  you  three?" 

"Not  a  word;  but  then  he  was  always 
very  reserved  about  himself." 

The  barrister  hummed  a  tune,  and  then, 
lighting  a  cigarette,  fell  to  pacing  his 
[244] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

room,  as  he  always  did  when  working  out 
his  problems. 

"Well,  Baxter,  Sir  John  provoked  that 
interview,  which  we  presume  was  about 
the  secret  trust,  in  order  to  make  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  key  to  the  cryptogram 
ready  to  work,  in  case  he  died  before  Evan- 
geline came  of  age.  Do  you  remember 
that  letter  you  found  copied  in  his  private 
letter  book?  That  was  an  invitation  to  the 
interview.  Now,  knowing  it  was  going  to 
take  place,  knowing  he  had  to  provide  for 
Evangeline's  future,  he  goes  to  see  you  the 
night  before  and  asks  you  to  marry  the  girl. 
Then  he  could  have  settled  everything  by 
leaving  the  money  to  you.  That  would 
have  excited  no  comment,  and  probably  he 
would  have  abandoned  his  secret  trust,  and 
no  doubt  he  would  have  taken  a  different 
line  at  the  interview.  But  you  wouldn't 
promise  unconditionally  to  marry  the 
girl?" 

[245] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  He  wanted  me  to  marry  her  in  a  day 
or  two's  time  by  special  licence.  I  couldn't 
do  it.     I'd  never  seen  the  girl." 

"  And  Sir  John  knew  he  couldn't  wait." 

"  I  almost  wish  I'd  consented.  I  wonder 
if  it  would  have  altered  matters?" 

"  That  we  shall  never  know." 

The  solicitor  was  grave  enough  as  he 
added,  "  Something  else  has  happened." 

"What's  that?" 

"  What  do  you  guess,  Tempest?  " 

"  How  do  I  know,  unless  you've  found 
the  lady?" 

Baxter  pitched  him  a  letter  across  the 
table,  The  barrister  picked  it  up  and 
read  it. 

"135  Chancery  Lane,  W.  C. 

"  DEAR  SIRS, — We  are  instructed  by  our 
client,  Lady  Rellingham,  relict  of  Sir  John 
Rellingham,  deceased,  late  the  senior  part- 
ner in  your  firm,  to  make  formal  claim  to 
the  £20,000  held  in  trust  for  her,  under  Sir 
[246] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

John's  will,  by  yourselves,  his  surviving 
partners  and  executors.  The  terms  of  the 
will  are  before  us,  and  of  course  these  do 
not  specifically  allude  to  Lady  Rellingham 
by  that  or  any  other  name  or  description; 
but  we  are  enclosing  a  copy,  and  are  pre- 
pared to  produce,  for  your  inspection,  the 
original  of  a  letter  from  the  late  Sir  John 
Rellingham,  in  his  own  handwriting, 
which  can  leave  no  doubt  of  his  intentions, 
and  we  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  in  accord 
with  those  directions  to  yourself  to  which 
the  will  alludes.  We  should  have  ven- 
tured to  express  our  surprise  that  the 
money  should  have  remained  in  your  hands 
so  long,  and  that  during  that  time  no  effort 
should  have  been  made  to  fulfil  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  trust,  were  it  not  that  our  client 
informs  us  that  she  has  been  abroad  for 
many  years  past,  that  her  marriage  to  Sir 
John  has  always  been  kept  a  profound 
secret,  and  that  she  was,  until  quite  recently, 
[  247  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

unaware  of  Sir  John's  death.  We  are  pre- 
pared to  produce,  as  and  when  required, 
proof  of  the  marriage  of  Sir  John  to  our 
client  and  of  her  identity.  Our  client  has 
no  desire  to  encourage  any  greater  pub- 
licity than  may  be  necessary  in  view  of  the 
terms  of  separation  which  had  long  existed 
between  herself  and  her  husband;  in  fact, 
she  would  prefer  to  maintain  the  silence 
which  has  hitherto  been  observed  concern- 
ing the  marriage.  In  this  we  trust  you 
will  feel  disposed  and  able  to  act  in  unison 
and  conformity  with  such  expression  of  her 
wishes;  and  we  should  suppose,  as  he  sub- 
sequently contracted  a  bigamous  marriage, 
that  for  the  sake  of  Sir  John  Rellingham's 
reputation,  you  would  yourselves  prefer  to 
do  so.  But,  of  course,  the  large  sum  at 
stake  precludes  any  suggestion  of  less 
favourable  terms  being  accepted  merely 
to  obtain  an  avoidance  of  publicity.  If 
you  require  publicity,  our  client  will  not 

[248] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

shrink  from  it. — We  are,  dear  sirs,  yours 
faithfully,  Clutch  &  Holdem 
"To  Messrs.  Rellingham,  Baxter,  Mar- 
ston  &  Moorhouse." 

The  enclosure  was  as  follows : — 

"  My  Dear, — As  a  tangible  evidence  of 
my  wish  when  you  claim  the  money  which 
I  am  leaving  in  trust  for  you  to  have,  if 
you  are  so  placed  that  you  ever  need  it 
after  I  am  gone,  I  write  you  this  letter. 
You  understand  it,  so  will  my  partners 
when  you  produce  it. — Yours  most  affec- 
tionately, John  Rellingham/' 

"What  do  you  think  of  it,  Tempest?" 
asked  the  solicitor. 

"  It's  precisely  what  I've  been  expecting." 

"Expecting!  Why  should  you  expect 
it?" 

"When  I  told  the  judge  in  open  court 

[  249  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

(I  shouldn't  have  said  it,  of  course,  if  I 
hadn't  known  of  the  duplicate  set  of 
papers),  but  when  I  told  him  that  the  di- 
rections for  the  disposal  of  the  trust  were 
in  a  sealed  packet,  and  that  that  packet  had 
been  destroyed,  and  that  you  three  didn't 
yourselves  know  what  were  the  original  in- 
tentions of  Sir  John  in  creating  the  trust,  I 
felt  pretty  confident  you  would  have  a  crop 
of  bogus  claims.  This  is  the  first.  I  was 
inviting  them,  and  I  knew  it." 

"But  this  looks  genuine.  They  have 
the  fact  of  the  marriage.  That  is  not  pub- 
lic property,  but  we  know  it  is  true." 

"Quite  so,  Baxter;  but  at  least  three 
other  people,  the  witnesses  and  the  parson, 
must  also  have  known  it  originally.  And 
goodness  only  knows  who  they  have  since 
told,  and  very  likely  there  are  several  other 
people  as  well, — the  relatives  of  Sir  John's 
wife." 

"  But  the  letter  fits  so  well." 

[250] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"  Of  course  it  does ;  but  in  view  of  what 
the  public  know,  anybody  could  have  con- 
cocted that  letter.  It  could  have  been  made 
to  fit.  You  weren't  likely  to  have  a  letter 
fired  at  you  that  wouldn't  fit.  Now,  there 
are  these  points  you  must  bear  in  mind:  (i) 
The  letter  may  be  a  forgery.  (2)  There 
may  be  no  Lady  Rellingham  now  in  exist- 
ence, and  this  may  be  a  simple  ramp  on 
the  part  of  Clutch  &  Holdem — you  know 
the  sort  of  reputation  that  firm  has?  (3) 
They  may  have  a  client  who  is  claiming  to 
be  Lady  Rellingham,  but  who  is  nothing  of 
the  kind.  (4)  But  even  if  she  is  Lady 
Rellingham,  and  even  if  the  letter  is  gen- 
uine, it  doesn't  follow  that  it  refers  to  the 
secret  trust.  Then  added  to  all  that,  by  a 
decree  of  the  court,  under  the  terms  of  the 
will,  the  money  now  belongs  to  you  three 
in  fee  simple." 
"  But  we've  reconstituted  the  trust." 
"Yes,  but  who  knows  except  your- 
[251] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

selves?  That  didn't  come  out  in  court. 
All  that  came  out  was,  that  you  three  still 
held  the  money." 

"  Is  that  a  complete  answer?" 

"I'm  not  quite  sure.  I  work  on  the 
common  law  side,  and  I  don't  want  to  dog- 
matise on  a  chancery  point;  but  it  seems  to 
me  at  any  rate  arguable  that  if  the  trust  is 
a  simple  trust  for  her  benefit,  claimable  by 
her  on  Sir  John's  death,  if  she  were  then 
alive,  then  it  had  already  vested  in  her 
before  the  Treasury  took  action  against  you, 
and  consequently  the  trust  created  by  the 
will  was  at  an  end,  and  the  money  would 
be  her  absolute  property  before  the  court 
decrees  it  to  yourselves.  If  it  were  hers  I 
should  fancy  the  decree  could  hardly  divest 
her  of  her  absolute  property.  You'll  prob- 
ably have  to  open  that  packet,  if  the  thing 
is  pressed,  for  it  has  the  semblance  of  being 
a  genuine  claim  and  one  that  looks  prima 
facie  as  if  it  might  be  substantiated." 
[  252  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

11  Do  you  recommend  us  to  pay  or  get 
out  the  papers?  " 

"  I  wouldn't  get  'em  out  yet.  Sir  John 
trusted  you  all  so  implicitly  that  I  wouldn't 
get  them  out  until  the  very  last  resort.  If 
this  is  a  mere  bluff,  you  may  stop  it  by 
blurring  back.  Go  and  see  the  letter,  and 
if  it's  in  Sir  John's  handwriting,  then  ask 
for  proof  of  the  marriage  and  proof  of 
identity.  When  those  are  forthcoming,  if 
they  are,  simply  point-blank  refuse  to  pay, 
and  see  what  happens.  Say  that  under  the 
judgment  of  the  court  the  trust  is  over  and 
the  money  vested  in  yourselves.  Here,  I'll 
draft  you  the  reply." 

Seating  himself  at  his  writing-table 
Tempest  wrote  as  follows: — 

"  Messrs.  CLUTCH  &  HOLDEM. 

"Dear   Sirs,— Without   attempting  to 
discuss   the  merits  of  the  claim,   if   any, 
which  your  client  may  conceive  herself  to 
[253] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

possess,  we  would  refer  you  to  the  terms  of 
the  will  of  Sir  John  Rellingham,  of  which 
you  appear  to  have  ample  knowledge.  We 
would  remind  you  that  the  Crown  com- 
menced legal  proceedings  against  us,  to 
compel  a  disclosure  of  the  terms  of  the 
trust;  that  we  resisted  this;  and  that  the 
court  decreed  that  under  the  expressed 
terms  of  Sir  John's  will  the  capital  funds 
had  vested  in  us  as  our  absolute  property. — 
Yours    faithfully,    RELLINGHAM,    BAXTER, 

MARSTON  &  MOORHOUSE." 

i 

The  solicitor  read  the  draft. 

"I  don't  like  it,  Tempest.  All  three  of 
us  are  ready  and  anxious  to  pay  over  the 
money,  if  this  be  really  Sir  John's  inten- 
tion." 

"Of  course  I  know  that;  but  the  odds 
are  so  heavy  that  this  is  a  bogus  claim  that 
you  are  bound  to  fight  it." 

By  return  of  post  came  the  following 

[254] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

reply,   which    Baxter   took   round   to   his 
chambers  for  Tempest  to  see: — 

"Dear  Sirs, — We  are  surprised  at  the 
tone  and  contents  of  your  letter.  We  had 
not  overlooked  the  facts  you  allude  to,  but 
we  are  advised  by  counsel  that  the  trust 
moneys  had  already  become  vested  in  our 
client  before  the  Crown  took  action,  and 
that  therefore  the  decree  is  of  no  weight. 
We  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  give  the  matter 
further  consideration,  as  we  do  not  wish  to 
resort  to  litigation  unnecessarily. — Yours 
faithfully,  CLUTCH  &  HOLDEM." 

"This  seems  to  be  getting  interesting," 
said  Tempest  as  he  read  the  letter. 

"Now  write  to  them,  and  ask  them  to 
produce,  for  your  inspection,  the  original 
of  the  letter  written  by  Sir  John  and  the 
certificate  of  the  marriage.  You  should 
also  ask  them  how  they  propose  to  prove 

[255] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  identity  of  their  client  with  the  lady 
who  married  Sir  John?  Let  me  know 
what  they  say." 

The  letter  was  duly  written;  and  Tem- 
pest learned  afterwards  from  Baxter  that 
there  could  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the 
letter  had  been  written  by  Sir  John.  "It's 
on  the  firm's  paper.  It's  all  in  his  own 
handwriting.  It  couldn't  have  been  forged 
so  perfectly.  You  see,  it  isn't  just  the 
question  of  a  signature." 

"Very  well,  then,  I  take  it  that  Sir  John 
wrote  it.     Did  you  ask  to  see  the  envelope." 

"Yes;  and  I  was  told  it  was  given  per- 
sonally to  Lady  Rellingham  by  Sir  John, 
and  was  never  put  into  an  envelope." 

"Oh,  that's  important;  as  the  admission, 
if  it  were  true,  would  prove  she  had  seen 
Sir  John  since  or  at  the  date  of  the  making 
of  the  will.     Anything  else?" 

"  Yes,  it  was  written  in  the  new  copying- 
ink.  I  told  you  about  that  once  before,  so 
[256] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

it  must  have  been  written  within  a  week  or 
so  before  he  died." 

"Had  the  letter  been  copied?" 
"  Yes,  press  copied.     That  was  evident." 
"  Can  you  find  the  copy  in  Sir  John's 
private  book?" 

"No,    I've    looked    carefully.     It   isn't 
there." 
"Are  there  any  pages  torn  out?" 
"No,   I've  gone  carefully  through  the 
pages.     There  are  no  numbers  missing." 

"  Then  I'll  tell  you  where  the  press  copy 
is — it's  in  the  sealed  packet.  There  were 
probably  two  copies  taken.  Baxter,  that 
letter  was  never  written  to  Lady  Relling- 
ham." 

"Why  not?" 

"  It's  written  in  terms  of  genuine  affec- 
tion. If  Sir  John  had  been  on  such  terms 
with  his  wife,  he  would  not  have  been 
separated  from  her  so  completely  that  not 
one  of  you  three  had  ever  heard  of  her  ex- 
[257] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

istence.  Why,  Sir  John  couldn't  have 
known  she  were  still  alive,  or  he  wouldn't 
have  married  a  second  time." 

"Then  who  was  it  written  to?" 

"  Evangeline  Stableford." 

"Then  how  did  it  come  into  Lady  Rel- 
lingham's  hands?" 

"Assuming  there  is  a  person  posing 
as  Lady  Rellingham,  you  get  a  motive 
which  may  account  for  the  fact  that  Evan- 
geline was  murdered.  I'm  not  sure  at 
present  that  it  was  the  actual  motive. 
There  may,  perhaps,  have  been  another, 
but  the  letter  was  stolen  at  the  time  of  her 
death.  You  know  I've  always  said  she  was 
murdered  by  that  woman  who  was  staying 
in  the  hotel  in  the  name  of  Mrs.  Garnett. 
Mrs.  Garnett  is  the  woman  who  is  now 
posing  as  Lady  Rellingham.  She  is  the 
woman  who  was  in  the  court  on  those  two 
occasions — the  woman  Yardley  tracked  to 
the  Hotel  Victoria,  where  she  was  staying 
[258] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

as  Mrs.  Seymour.  Now,  mark  you!  the 
letter  is  not  used  on  Sir  John's  death.  It 
is  not  used  until  I  have  declared,  in  open 
court,  that  the  directions  for  disposing  of 
the  trust  have  been  destroyed.  Clutch  & 
Holdem  have  probably  got  as  their  client 
that  woman  Mrs.  Garnett,  but  it  doesn't 
absolutely  follow  she  is  identical  with  Lady 
Rellingham.  Still,  I  think  she  must  be. 
You  see,  Evangeline  was  the  legitimate 
daughter  of  Sir  John.  I've  felt  fairly 
certain  all  along  that  Mrs.  Garnett  was 
Evangeline's  mother." 

"  Well,  what  had  we  better  do?  I'm  here 
for  professional  advice,  Tempest." 

"  Oh!  you  must  decline  to  pay.  Say  you 
will  accept  service  of  a  writ,  as  you  prefer 
to  submit  the  matter  to  the  arbitrament  of 
the  court.  I'll  keep  your  name  straight 
before  the  court.  Nobody  shall  go  away 
with  the  impression  that  you  were  declin- 
ing to  pay  simply  so  that  you  could  stick  to 
[259  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

the  money.  You  see,  Baxter,  they  must 
produce  their  client  in  court.  They  can't 
get  out  of  doing  it.  The  only  documents 
they  can  cite  are  the  will  and  this  letter. 
As  the  two  stand  together  they  don't  prove 
their  case.  They  must  obviously  explain 
the  letter  by  the  evidence  of  their  client. 
[You  must  have  the  papers  in  court,  in  case 
the  jury  seem  inclined  to  believe  the  wo- 
man. We'll  open  the  packet  there,  if 
necessary.  This  letter  from  Sir  John  is 
obviously  the  eventuality  he  created  and 
ample  justification  for  your  opening  the 
packet;  but,  as  I  am  pretty  sure  it  has  got 
into  the  wrong  hands,  we  won't  meddle 
with  the  secret  until  it  becomes  unavoid- 
able, and  then  we'll  cross-examine  this 
Lady  Rellingham." 

"Can  we  keep  the  papers  secret  until 
then?  Surely  Clutch  &  Holdem  will  get 
discovery?" 

"  How  can  they?  They  can't  get  a  gen- 
.[  260  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

eral  fishing  order.  They  can  only  get  dis- 
covery of  documents  they  can  specify." 

"  But  they'll  require  an  affidavit  of  docu- 
ments?" 

"  I  suppose  they  will.  Put  into  the  affi- 
davit the  sealed  packet  you  had,  and  say 
that  it  was  destroyed.  They  know  that 
much.  They  will  never  dream  of  there 
being  a  duplicate  set  of  papers.  Why,  this 
action  is  only  brought  because  they  know 
the  papers  have  been  destroyed.  Besides, 
the  set  which  are  now  at  the  safe  deposit 
place  have  never  been  reduced  into  custody 
yet.  I  tell  you  what.  Don't  swear  an  affi- 
davit of  documents  at  all.  Don't  wait  till 
you  are  asked  for  one,  but  treat  it  as  all  in 
the  day's  march;  and,  before  they  ask,  send 
them  an  informal  list  of  your  documents. 
Send  it  with  a  kind  of  put-off  letter,  saying 
you  don't  wish  to  inconvenience  them,  so 
send  them  at  once  a  list  of  the  documents, 
and  say  that  a  thorough  search  is  being 
[261] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

made  amongst  the  office  papers  for  addi- 
tional papers,  if  any;  and  consequently, 
with  their  consent,  you  will  postpone 
swearing  a  formal  affidavit  till  the  last  mo- 
ment. Then  forget  all  about  it.  They'll 
probably  never  tumble  to  what  your  game 
is.  They've  very  likely  got  one  or  two 
documents  themselves  which  t!hey  would 
rather  keep  up  their  sleeve  at  the  moment, 
so,  if  you  don't  worry  them  for  their  affi- 
davit, very  likely  they  won't  bother  you. 
They  think  they  know  you  have  nothing  of 
the  least  importance." 

In  due  course  the  case  c.ame  on  for  hear- 
ing in  one  of  the  chancery_courts.  Har- 
nett, K.  C,  and  Mr.  Hayford  were  for 
Lady  Rellingham;  Tempest  was  alone,  as 
usual,  for  the  surviving  partners  in  the 
firm  of  Rellingham,  Baxter,  Marston  & 
Moorhouse. 

In  an  easy  tone  the  well-known  K.  C. 
opened  the  case.     He  dwelt  at  some  length 

[  2G2  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

on  the  strange  circumstances  of  the  death 
of  Sir  John  Rellingham,  described  how  he 
had  been  found  murdered,  and  mentioned 
the  newspaper  agitation  which  had  re- 
sulted first  in  the  action  taken  by  the 
Crown  against  the  partners  to  compel  dis- 
closure of  the  terms  of  the  trust,  which  ac- 
tion had  resulted  in  the  court  decreeing  the 
capital  moneys  to  be  the  property  of  the 
surviving  partners  in  their  own  right. 
"We  now  know,"  said  Mr.  Barnett,  "that 
in  defiance  of  the  injunction  of  the  court, 
certainly  an  order  obtained  ex  parte,  but 
a  valid  injunction  nevertheless,  the  part- 
ners and  executors  of  Sir  John  took  it  upon 
themselves  to  destroy  the  sealed  packet 
containing  Sir  John's  instructions  as  to  the 
conduct  and  disposal  of  the  trust." 

"  How  do  you  know  that,  Mr.  Barnett?" 

"  My    lord,"  answered  the  K.  C,  "  my 

learned  friend  who  is  against  me  in    this 

case  made  a  statement  to  that  effect  a  few 

[263] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

weeks  ago,  when  acting  for  one  of  the  part- 
ners in  a  motion  in  one  of  the  other  courts 
concerning  the  distribution  of  the  money. 
I  presume  he  will  not  contradict  his  previ- 
ous statement?" 

"Oh,  dear  no!"  said  Tempest,  without 
rising  from  his  seat.  "  If  my  learned 
friend's  client  hadn't  known  the  papers 
had  been  destroyed,  she  wouldn't  have 
dared  to  bring  this  action." 

"  I  can  only  say,"  continued  the  K.  C, 
"  that  this  is  a  most  improper  observation 
to  have  made,  and  I  am  surprised  at  my 
learned  friend  allowing  such  a  scandalous 
suggestion  to  have  been  put  into  his 
mouth." 

"Mr.  Barnett,"  said  the  judge  with  a 
smilej  "we  hear  many  scandalous  sugges- 
tions of  that  kind  in  this  court.  I  should 
have  thought  that,  with  your  experience  of 
them,  you  would  hardly  allowed  your  im- 
perturbable equanimity  to   be   ruffled  by 

[264] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

* 

what  Mr.  Tempest  said.     He  has  still  to 
prove  it,  you  know." 

"Quite  so,  my  lord;"  and  then  the  K.  C. 
passed  to  another  result  of  the  newspaper 
agitation  which  had  been  "  the  cause  of  the 
arrest  and  trial  of  Mr.  Baxter,  one  of  the 
defendants  in  the  present  case,  for  the  mur- 
der of  his  partner,  the  late  Sir  John  Rel- 
lingham.  I  know  your  lordship  will  per- 
mit me  to  dissociate  myself  and  my  client 
from  any  possible  accusation  of  repeating 
any  such  suggestion  here.  Rather,  if  I 
may,  would  I  tender  to  Mr.  Baxter  con- 
gratulations on  behalf  of  our  mutual  pro- 
fession at  the  happy  issue  of  those  proceed- 
ings, and  I  would  congratulate  my  learned 
friend  as  well,  for  he  was  closely  concerned 
in  that  issue." 

"Mr.  Barnett,  aren't  you  rather  on  the 
horns  of  a  dilemma?     If  you  congratulate 
Mr.  Tempest  too  much,  you'll  be  making 
the  very  suggestion  you  repudiate." 
[265] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

A  smile  went  round  the  court,  and,  as 
the  ushers  called  for  "  silence,"  the  learned 
counsel  resumed  his  speech. 

"The  delay  in  bringing  this  action,  my 
lord,  or  rather  the  delay  in  making  the 
claim  which  has  resulted  in  this  action, 
was  not  due  to  the  reason  suggested  in  the 
innuendo  of  my  learned  friend,  but  simply 
to  the  fact  that  Lady  Rellingham  was  ab- 
sent from  England,  and  was  not  aware  of 
the  death  of  Sir  John.  I  cannot  ignore  the 
unhappy  fact,  my  lord — it  is  bound  to 
come  out  in  these  proceedings;  but  Sir 
John  and  Lady  Rellingham  separated 
within  a  few  months  of  their  marriage,  and 
since  that  separation  never  again  cohabited 
with  each  other,  and  I  understand  never 
again  met  each  other.  So  complete  was 
this  separation,  that  it  came  as  a  great  sur- 
prise to  all  of  us,  including  those  of  us  who 
had  known  the  late  Sir  John  Rellingham 
intimately,  to  be  informed  that  he  had  ever 
[266] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

been  married  before  his  marriage  to  the 
late  Lady  Rellingham,  whom  we  all  knew. 
My  client  will  go  into  the  box,  my  lord, 
and  will  give  the  court  the  short  history  of 
her  brief  married  life.  I  shall  put  in  the 
certificate  of  the  marriage.  None  of  the 
witnesses  are  now  alive.  It  was  a  mar- 
riage in  a  London  city  church;  and  the  two 
witnesses,  the  verger  and  a  cleaner,  were 
then  both  old,  and  they  and  the  clergyman 
who  performed  the  ceremony  are  all  dead. 
But  I  shall  call  before  your  lordship  the 
mother  of  the  plaintiff,  who  will  identify 
her  daughter.  She  was  aware  of  her  mar- 
riage; and  there  cannot  therefore  be  any 
objection,  successfully  upheld,  that  my  cli- 
ent, Lady  Rellingham,  is  any  other  person 
than  the  lady  who  went  through  the  cere- 
mony of  marriage  with  Sir  John.  The 
real  difficulty  I  have  to  face,  my  lord,  is 
that  the  terms  of  Sir  John's  will  are  so 
strange.     Not  only  does  he  create  a  secret 

[267  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

trust,  but  he  attached  to  it  this  curious 
clause: 

Ui  And  I  further  direct  that  if  at  any  time 
this  trust  or  the  capital  moneys  of  this  trust 
shall  be  or  shall  become  the  subject  matter 
of  litigation  through  the  interference  or  in- 
tervention of  any  party  or  parties  other 
than  my  said  partners,  or  the  survivor  or 
survivors  of  them,  then  and  forthwith,  and 
from  the  commencement  of  such  litigation, 
the  said  trust  shall  cease  and  determine, 
and  the  capital  sums  of  the  said  trust  shall 
be  distributed  and  applied  in  the  form  and 
manner  next  above  provided.'" 

"What  was  that  form  and  manner,  Mr. 
Barnett?" 

"Your  lordship  has  a  copy  of  the  will 
before  you.  The  previous  clause  directs 
the  distribution  of  the  money  amongst  the 
partners  for  their  own  benefit  in  a  certain 
eventually." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  see." 

[268] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Now,  the  surviving  partners  of  the  late 
Sir  John  profess  ignorance  of  the  original 
purposes  of  the  trust.  They  assert  that 
their  instructions  were  sealed  in  a  packet 
which  was  only  to  be  opened  in  a  certain 
eventuality;  and  they  say,  also,  that  those 
instructions  directed  them,  in  the  event  of 
litigation,  to  destroy  the  parcel  unopened. 

"The  Crown  commenced  litigation. 
The  parcel  was  destroyed.  But  the  result 
of  that  litigation  was  that,  under  the  clause 
in  Sir  John's  will,  which  I  have  just  read 
to  your  lordship,  the  court  decrees  the  trust 
funds  to  have  vested  in  the  three  surviving 
partners  in  their  own  right.  But  if  the 
trustees  and  executors  are  really  in  the  en- 
tire ignorance  they  suggest,  we  are  not. 
Not  only  was  Lady  Rellingham  aware  of 
the  purposes  of  the  trust,  but  what  we  be- 
lieve are  the  actual  terms  of  the  instruc- 
tions concerning  it  were  within  her  knowl- 
edge.     Amongst    certain    papers    of    Sir 

[  269  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

John's,  which  were  in  her  possession,  is  a 
paper  containing  these  words: — 

" '  Upon  trust,  to  be  settled  tightly  for 
her  exclusive  use  and  benefit,  without 
power  of  alienation  or  anticipation  in  the 
names  of  suitable  trustees,  the  new  trust 
deed  to  be  executed  immediately  after  my 
death,  and  to  contain  a  clause  cancelling 
the  trust  created  by  my  will.' 

"  That  paper  was  given  to  Lady  Relling- 
ham  at  the  same  time  as  the  letter  which  I 
shall  presently  read  to  your  lordship  and 
which  she  was  to  show  to  the  trustees  and 
executors.  Now,  my  lord,  if,  as  I  submit, 
we  have  a  right  to  assume  those  were  either 
the  actual  words  or  an  epitome  of  the  in- 
structions Sir  John  left  to  his  executors, 
then  I  submit  to  your  lordship  that  it  was 
their  duty  to  at  once  transfer  this  money, 
and  themselves  create  this  trust  in  favour  of 
Lady  Rellingham.  I  submit  it  had  vested 
[  270  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

in  her  as  the  beneficiary,  and,  as  a  new 
trust,  was  not  subject  to  the  clause  by  which 
litigation  transferred  it  to  the  surviving 
partners.  Alternatively,  my  lord,  I  shall 
submit,  that  if  the  old  trust  still  existed, 
and  the  money  therefore  under  the  terms  of 
the  will  was  still  subject  to  the  forfeiture 
clause,  and  was  accordingly  forfeited,  then 
the  trustees  were  guilty  of  negligence  in 
not  having  constituted  the  new  trust,  and 
through  their  negligence  Lady  Relling- 
ham  has  found  the  provision  made  for  her 
forfeited  through  causes  over  which  she 
had  no  control,  and  for  which  negligence 
she  is  entitled  to  damages.  Her  statement 
of  claim,  my  lord,  as  you  will  see,  alleges 
the  further  negligence  that  the  forfeiture 
was  consequent  upon  the  refusal  of  the  part- 
ners to  disclose  the  terms  of  the  trust,  and 
that  they  were  not  justified  in  that  refusal, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  deliberately  pro- 
I  271 1 


THE    DUPLICATE     DEATH 

voked  the  litigation  which  resulted  in  the 
forfeiture.  Before  calling  my  client,  my 
lord,  I  propose  to  proceed  chronologically 
by  first  proving  the  marriage." 

Formal  proof  of  the  marriage  and  the 
certificate  was  given,  and  then  Mr.  Bar- 
nett  called  "  Esther  Manuel." 

An  old  woman,  dressed  plainly  but  inex- 
pensively, came  forward,  and  was  sworn. 
She  gave  her  name  and  her  residence  in 
Nassau  Street,  Dublin,  and  said  that  she 
was  the  widow  of  Pedro  Manuel. 

"Who  was  Pedro  Manuel?" 

"  He  was  a  hairdresser." 

"Where  did  he  carry  on  business?" 

"  In  Dublin." 

"When  did  he  die?" 

"  Eight    years    after    my    marriage,    in 

1865." 

"How  many  children  had  you?" 
"Two  daughters." 
"When  were  they  barn?" 

[272] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Sarah  Jane  was  born  in  1858  and 
Dorothy  in  i860." 

"  What  has  became  of  Dorothy?  " 

"  She  died  about  twenty  years  ago.  I 
don't  know  the  exact  date." 

"Where  did  she  die?" 

"  In  London." 

"Now,  your  elder  daughter.  Do  you 
see  her  in  court?" 

"Yes — that  lady;"  and  the  old  woman 
pointed  to  the  plaintiff,  who  was  seated  at 
the  solicitor's  table. 

"Will  you  raise  your  veil,  please,  Lady 
Rellingham?"  said  the  judge.  "Now," 
he  added,  turning  to  the  witness,  "  is  that 
your  daughter  Sarah  Jane?" 

"Yes.  I'm  positive.  I  should  know 
her  anywhere." 

As  Lady  Rellingham  raised  her  veil  for 

a    moment,    Tempest    saw   her    face    and 

started  in  amazement.     An  older  woman 

certainly,  but  nevertheless  the  likeness  to 

[273  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

Evangeline  Stableford  was  startling  in  the 
extreme.  There  could  be  no  doubt  of  the 
relationship  of  those  two. 

Tempest  rose  to  cross-examine.  "When 
did  your  daughters  leave  home?" 

"Oh,  many  a  year  ago!  I  couldn't  tell 
you  the  date." 

"How  old  were  they?" 

"I  think  Sarah  Jane  was  seventeen  or. 
eighteen,  and  Dorothy  was  two  years 
younger." 

"Why  did  they  leave  home?  Was  there 
any  quarrel?" 

"  Oh,  no,  sir.  They  left  home  to  go  into 
service.  I  found  it  very  hard  to  support 
them,  and  they  had  good  situations  offered 
to  them." 

"What  were  the  situations?" 

"  They  went  to  some  dressmaker's  shop 
here  in  London.     I  forget  the  name." 

"When  was  the  next  time  you  saw 
them?" 

[274] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  I  never  saw  Dorothy  again.  She 
died." 

"Did  they  write  to  you?" 

"Sometimes;  but  not  often.  I'm  not 
much  of  a  scholar  myself,  and  I  couldn't 
write  back,  so  I  suppose  they  got  tired  of 
writing." 

"  When  did  you  next  see  your  daughter 
Sarah  Jane?" 

The  witness  hesitated,  but  the  question 
was  pressed,  and  finaHy  came  the  answer, 
"Yesterday." 

"  Then,  from  the  day  they  left  home  un- 
til yesterday,  an  interval  of  between  twenty 
and  thirty  years,  you  have  never  set  eyes  on 
your  daughter?" 

"  No,  sir." 

"And  yet  you  are  positive  she  is  your 
daughter?  " 

"Quite  sure,  sir." 

"  Did  you  know  of  her  marriage?' 

"Yes." 

[275] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"When  did  you  hear  of  it?" 
"  I  can't  say  exactly.  She  wrote  and 
told  me  she  had  married  a  rich  man,  and 
since  then  she's  always  allowed  me  ten  shil- 
lings a  week,  and  with  the  little  bit  of 
money  I  had  that  made  me  very  comfort- 
able." 

"Did  you  know  whom  she  married?" 
"  No.     I  didn't  know  the  name." 
"  How  did  you  address  your  letters  to 
her  when  you  wrote?  " 

"  I  used  to  write  them  to  Miss  Manuel. 
She  told  me  to." 
"What  address  did  you  send  them  to?" 
"  I  always  sent  them  to  her  at  an  address 
she  gave  me."  The  old  lady  mentioned 
the  address,  but  it  told  Tempest  nothing. 
He  guessed  it  to  be  an  accommodation 
address — a  surmise  which  subsequently 
proved  correct. 

"How  did   you   get  to  know  of  your 
daughter  Dorothy's  death?" 
[  276  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Sarah  Jane — her  ladyship — wrote  and 
told  me." 

"Did  she  tell  you  where  she  died?" 

"I  don't  remember,  sir.  I  don't  think 
so." 

"  Did  she  tell  you  what  was  the  cause  of 
her  death?" 

11  No,  sir.  I  wrote  and  asked  her  to  send 
me  word  about  it,  but  I  didn't  hear  again 
after  that  from  Sarah  Jane  for  a  long  time, 
and  then  she  wrote  and  said  she'd  been  liv- 
ing in  France." 

"  Did  you  ever  write  and  ask  your 
daughter  Sarah  Jane  who  it  was  she  had 
married?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Did  she  tell  you?" 

"No.  She  said  she  had  to  keep  her 
marriage  quite  secret,  and  it  was  safest  to 
say  nothing." 

"  Did  either  of  your  daughters  tell  you 
when  they  left  their  situation?" 
[  277  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"No,  sir." 

"  Then,  for  all  you  knew  to  the  contrary, 
Sarah  Jane  might  still  have  been  there  all 
these  years?" 

"Well,  sir,  she  said  she  had  married  a 
rich  man,  so  naturally  I  didn't  suppose 
she  would  have  to  go  on  working  for  her 
living." 

"  Did  she  ever  send  you  word  whether 
she  had  a  child?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Do  you  know  now  whether  or  not  she 
has  ever  had  one?" 

"No,  sir." 

Lady  Rellingham  was  the  next  witness 
called,  and,  in  answer  to  her  counsel,  said 
she  left  home  about  the  year  1875.  It 
might  be  1876;  she  could  not  be  certain. 
She  had  left  home  with  her  sister,  and  they 
both  obtained  situations  in  the  same  milli- 
ner's shop.  There  she  had  met  Mr.  John 
Rellingham,  as  he  then  was,  and  she  had 
[278] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

married  him  after  a  very  short  engage- 
ment. Their  marriage  had  been  kept  se- 
cret by  her  wish  at  first.  She  did  not  wish 
to  give  up  her  employment.  They  never 
had  a  joint  home.  She  and  her  sister 
shared  rooms,  and  she  used  to  go  away 
with  her  husband  for  week  ends. 

"  Then  I  think  you  separated  from  your 
husband.  Can  you  tell  the  court  the 
reason?" 

"  We  couldn't  get  on.  We  were  always 
quarrelling,  and  we  both  felt  it  was  hope- 
less to  pretend  to  keep  up  the  farce  of  ap- 
pearing fond  of  each  other.  So  we  just 
agreed  to  part.  That  was  easy.  Because 
no  one  knew  of  our  marriage  except  my 
sister." 

u  Did  Sir  John  make  any  provision  for 
you?" 

"  He  allowed  me  an  income  for  a  few 
years,  and  then  it  ceased." 

"Did  you  ever  see  Sir  John  again?" 
[279] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Not  until  shortly  before  his  death, 
when  he  gave  me  the  letter  and  paper  I 
produce." 

"  Do  you  identify  this  letter  (and  it  was 
handed  to  the  witness)  as  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Sir  John?" 

"  Yes,  it  is  in  his  writing." 

"You  are  perfectly  familiar  with  his 
writing?  Now,  this  other  paper — is  that 
in  his  handwriting?  " 

"  No.  He  had  it  ready  written  out,  and 
he  gave  it  me  with  the  letter." 

"Why  were  they  given  to  you?" 

"  So  that  I  could  claim  the  money  which 
he  told  me  he  was  putting  into  trust  for  me 
under  his  will." 

"What  was  the  reason  for  making  it  a 
secret  trust  and  not  leaving  it  to  you  by 
name?" 

"  Sir  John  still  wished  our  marriage 
kept  secret.  You  see,  he  had  been  married 
again  himself." 

[  280  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Do  you  swear  on  your  oath  that  Sir 
John  intended  that  trust  for  your  bene- 
fit?" 

"  He  told  me  so.  He  told  me  I  should 
only  have  to  show  that  letter  to  his  part- 
ners, that  they  would  understand  it;  and 
he  gave  me  the  paper,  and  told  me  that 
those  were  the  instructions  he  had  left  for 
his  partners." 

"  I  really  don't  know  how  much  of  this 
is  evidence,"  interrupted  the  judge. 

Tempest  rose.  "  I  make  no  objection  to 
it,  my  lord.  I  am  not  here  to  assist  my  cli- 
ents to  retain  money  which  should  rightly 
go  elsewhere;  and  under  the  curious,  I 
might  say  the  utterly  weird,  circumstances 
of  this  present  case,  I  think  it  very  desir- 
able we  should  have  all  possible  informa- 
tion we  ,can  get." 

"  If  you  raise  no  objection,  Mr.  Tem- 
pest, I  am  very  much  inclined  to  agree  with 
you;"  and  the. examination  was  continued. 
[281] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"When  did  you  hear  of  Sir  John's 
death?" 

"Only  a  few  weeks  ago.  I  have  been 
travelling  in  Egypt." 

"And  that  is  the  reason,  I  understand, 
why  you  have  only  recently  instructed  your 
solicitors  to  claim  the  money?" 

"That  is  so;"  and  the  examination  then 
closed,  and  Tempest  began  to  cross-ex- 
amine. 

"  For  how  long,  Lady  Rellingham,  have 
you  used  that  title?" 

"  Only  since  I  commenced  this  claim." 

"That,  I  take  it,  is  since  the  death  of  Sir 
John,  and  since  he  has  been  unable  to  raise 
objection  to  your  doing  so.  Is  not  that  the 
case?" 

"Yes." 

"What  name  were  you  known  by  previ- 
ously? " 

"  My  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Jane 
Manuel." 

[282] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  What  name  were  you  known  by  previ- 
ously, Lady  Rellingham,  if  you  please?" 

"  I  decline  to  answer." 

"Will  you  answer  my  question,  please?" 

"  I  decline  to." 

"Was  it  the  name  of  another  man?" 

"  Yes." 

"Was  that  why  Sir  John  Rellingham 
ceased  to  pay  your  allowance?" 

"  I  don't  know." 

The  question  was  pressed. 

"  I  don't  .think  it  was." 

"What  was  the  reason?" 

"  My  husband  thought  I  was  dead." 

Tempest's  face  plainly  showed  his  sur- 
prise. 

"  How  did  you  know  he  thought  you 
were  dead?" 

"  He  heard  of  the  death  of  my  sister,  and 

must  have  thought  it  was  my  death,  for  he 

wrote  to  my  sister  to  condole  with  her,  and 

offering  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  funeral. 

[283] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

It  suited  me  to  let  him  think  so,  so  I  an- 
swered it  in  my  sister's  name,  and  I  never 
undeceived  him." 

"  If  he  thought  you  were  dead,  then  why 
did  he  wish  to  provide  for  you  by  making 
this  trust?  " 

"  He  found  out  his  mistake." 

"  How?  " 

"We  met,  and  he  recognised  me." 

"When  did  you  meet?" 

"  It  was  just  before  his  death,  when  he 
gave  me  that  letter  and  the  paper." 

"  How  was  it  you  came  to  meet?  " 

"  He  wrote  that  he  had  some  business  he 
wanted  to  discuss  with  me." 

"But  he  thought  you  were  dead?" 

"  Yes ;  but  he  thought  my  sister — his  sis- 
ter-in-law— was  alive." 

Tempest  hunted  through  his  papers,  and 
then,  turnipg  to  the  witness,  asked,  "Was 
this  the  letter?"  and  Tempest  read  out: 

" '  Sir  John  Rellingham  has  received  and 
[284] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

carefully  considered  the  letter.  In  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  discretion,  he  must  decline  the 
request.  He  cannot  but  think  the  inter- 
view was  essential.' " 

"  It  was  something  like  that." 

"Was  that  the  letter,  please?  Yes  or 
no?" 

u  I  believe  it  was." 

"  Did  the  interview  take  place  after  you 
received  that  letter?" 

"  Yes." 

"Then  we  can  date  it.  That  letter  was 
written  within  a  week  of  Sir  John's  death." 

"Do  you  propose  to  prove  that,  Mr. 
Tempest?"  asked  the  judge. 

"  Certainly,  my  lord — now  that  it  has  be- 
come material. — Now,  do  I  understand 
that,  until  that  interview  took  place,  Sir 
John  Rellingham  had  no  idea  that  you,  his 
wife,  were  still  alive?" 

"  That  is  so." 

"  Lady  Rellingham,  Sir  John  died  in  the 
[285] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

week  preceding  Easter  in  1902.  If  he 
were  not  aware  you  were  alive  until  the  in- 
terview took  place  in  1902,  how  do  you  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  his  will  was  made 
in  1900 — the  trust  drawn  up  in  1900 — a 
trust  which  you  say  was  for  your  benefit, 
whereas  he  did  not  know  in  1900,  when  he 
drew  his  will,  that  you  were  alive?" 

There  was  no  answer,  and,  time  after 
time,  the  question  was  repeated.  Lady 
Rellingham  got  whiter  and  whiter,  till  her 
face  was  a  pale  ashy  grey;  but  she  made 
not  even  a  suggestion  in  reply.  At  last 
came  her  whispered  reply,  M I  cannot 
say." 

"  Mr.  Tempest,  of  course  it's  quite  possi- 
ble— mind,  I  do  not  say  it  is  so — but  it  is 
possible  that  the  trust  may  have  been  cre- 
ated for  the  benefit  of  some  one  else,  and 
Sir  John  may  have  changed  his  mind, 
when  he  became  aware  that  his  wife  was 
still  alive." 

[  286 1 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

Tempest  listened  in  growing  irritation 
as  the  judge  helped  the  witness  out  of  the 
pitfall  he  had  dug  so  carefully  for  her,  and 
curtly  answered: 

"That  is  a  point  I  shall  have  to  discuss 
at  some  length  a  little  later;"  and  then, 
turning  .to  the  witness,  he  asked :  "  Did 
Sir  John  write  this  letter  and  this  paper  in 
your  p/esence?" 

"  Yes,  and  handed  them  to  me." 

"Where  did  this  interview  take  place?" 

"  At  his  office." 

"  How  is  it,  then,  that  neither  of  Sir 
John's  partners  nor  any  of  the  clerks  in  the 
office  are  aware  of  such  an  interview  hav- 
ing taken  place?" 

"  It  was  after  office  hours,  and  all  the 
clerks  had  gone." 

"Who  admitted  you?" 

"  Sir  John  himself.  He  had  made  the 
appointment,  and  expected  us." 

"  Did  Sir  John  leave  you  in  his  room 
[  287  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

and  go  into  any  other  room  whilst  you  were 
there?" 

"No." 

"  Then,  Lady  Rellingham,  how  do  you 
account  for  this  letter  having  been  press- 
copied?" 

"  I  really  cannot  tell.  Perhaps  he  did 
it  in  his  own  room,  and  I  never  noticed  him 
copying  it.  I  don't  know  how  letters  are 
copied." 

"  But  I  do  know,  Lady  Rellingham.  It 
needs  a  press  to  press-copy  a  letter,  and  the 
press  is  in  the  clerks'  office." 

"  Perhaps  we  were  in  the  clerks'  office?" 

"  Will  you  describe  the  room,  Lady  Rel- 
lingham?" 

"  It  was  a  room  on  the  first  floor,  not 
looking  into  the  square,  and  it  had  a  large 
table  and  some  chairs." 

"Then,  Lady  Rellingham,  if  I  can 
prove  the  clerks'  offices  are  all  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  that  none  of  them  have 
[288] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

chairs    or  tables,  but  all  have  desks  and 
stools,  you  must  be  mistaken?" 

"Are  you  going  to  prove  that,  Mr.  Tem- 
pest?" 

"Oh  certainly,  my  lord;  if  you  wish  it. 
Now,  Lady  Rellingham,  a  moment  ago 
you  said  Sir  John  admitted  you.  Your  ex- 
act words  were,  '  He  had  made  the  ap- 
pointment and  expected  us.'  Who  was  the 
other  person?" 

"  That  was  a  mistake.     I  went  alone." 

"  Did  you  expect  to  meet  anyone  else 
there?" 

"No." 

"Did  anyone  else  go  there?" 

"No." 

"Was  no  one  else  present  at  the  inter- 
view between  yourself  and  Sir  John?" 

"  No  one  at  all." 

"What  time  was  it  when  the  interview 
took  place?" 

"About  a  quarter  to  seven." 
[289] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  And  none  of  the  clerks  were  present?  " 

"No." 

"Now,  Lady  Rellingham,  if  I  can 
prove,  as  I  am  going  to  do  presently — now 
just  listen,  please — if  I  can  prove  that  that 
letter  was  written  less  than  a  week  before 
Sir  John  died,  and  that  during  that  week 
there  was  only  one  evening  on  which  all  of 
the  clerks  had  gone  before  seven  o'clock, 
and  that  on  that  evening  Sir  John  sent  the 
last  one  away  at  half-past  six,  that  must 
have  been  the  evening  the  interview  took 
place?" 

"Yes,  I  suppose  so." 

"And  if  that  evening  was  the  evening 
Sir  John  was  murdered,  you  must  have 
been  the  last  person  who  saw  Sir  John 
alive?  Now,  Lady  Rellingham,  I  will 
ask  you  again,  was  no  one  else  present  at 
the  interview  between  Sir  John  and  your- 
self?" 

"There  was  someone  else." 

[290] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  I  thought  so.  Who  was  that  other 
person?" 

"  I  decline  to  say." 

"  But  don't  you  see,  Lady  Rellingham, 
that  if  that  other  person  can  corroborate 
what  you  say,  you  have  won  your  case.  If, 
as  you  admit,  there  was  another  person,  and 
you  don't  call  that  person  as  a  witness,  the 
natural  presumption  is  that  you  are  afraid 
to  do  so  because  that  person  would  tell  a 
different  story.  Now,  who  was  that  other 
person?" 

"The  other  person  is  dead." 

"Well,  we'll  leave  that  point  for  the 
present.  Have  you  any  children,  Lady 
Rellingham?" 

"No." 

Tempest  handed  the  witness  a  birth-cer- 
tificate. "  Isn't  that  the  certificate  of  the 
birth  of  a  daughter  of  Sir  John  and  your- 
self?" 

"Yes." 

[  291  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Then,  why  did  you  say  you  had  no  chil- 
dren?" 

"You  asked  me  if  I  have  any  children. 
That  child  was  adopted  by  somebody  very 
soon  after  it  was  born.  I  didn't  want  any- 
one to  know  I  had  had  a  child." 

"Who  adopted  it?" 

"  I  don't  know.  I  told  the  monthly 
nurse  to  make  arrangements,  and  it  was 
adopted  on  condition  that  I  was  not  to 
know  where  it  went,  and  I  was  never  to 
claim  it." 

"Was  your  husband  with  you  when  the 
child  was  born?" 

"No." 

"  Did  he  know  you  had  had  a  child?" 

"Yes." 

"  Did  he  know  what  became  of  it?" 

"  I  think  he  found  out  afterwards." 

"Did    he    tell  you  what  name  it  was 
known  by,  or  what  had  become  of  it  when 
you  had  this  interview  with  him?" 
[  292  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

"Yes." 

"What  was  the  name?" 

"I  decline  to  say." 

"  I  insist  on  your  answering;"  and  as  the 
witness  remained  silent,  the  judge  inter- 
vened. "You  know,  Lady  Rellingham,  I 
can  commit  you  to  prison  if  you  do  not  an- 
swer; and  if  you  do  not  tell  the  truth,  you 
will  be  guilty  of  perjury." 

"  Lady  Rellingham,  I  put  it  to  you  that 
your  daughter  went  by  the  name  of  Evan- 
geline Stableford.  Is  not  that  a  fact?" 
And  reluctantly  came  the  admission  that  it 
was. 

"Now,  then,  I  put  it  to  you  that  the 
other  person  who  was  present  was  Evange- 
line Stableford.     Isn't  that  so?" 

And  that  was  admitted. 

"Now,  didn't  Sir  John  tell  you  he  was 
suffering  from  cancer  of  the  throat,  and 
was  going  to  be  operated  on?" 

"Yes." 

[  293  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

i  i  i 

"  Didn't  he  remind  you  that  Evangeline 
had  not  yet  come  of  age?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Didn't  he  say  he  hoped  Lady  Stable- 
ford  would  provide  for  her  adopted 
daughter,  Evangeline,  in  her  will?" 

"Yes." 

"But  there  was  always  the  chance  that 
Lady  Stableford  might  change  her  mind, 
and  that  Evangeline  had  no  legal  claim  on 
her?" 

"  He  might  have  done." 

"Didn't  he?" 

"Yes,  I  think  he  did." 

"Now,  you  say  he  thought  you  were 
Evangeline's  aunt  and  not  her  mother?" 

"  Yes." 

"Then,  was  it  that  he  wished  to  leave 
Evangeline  in  your  charge  in  case  he  died 
under  the  operation,  and  before  Evange- 
line came  of  age,  that  he  had  sent  for 
you?" 

[294] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  And  your  story  is  that  when  he  saw  you 
he  recognised  you  as  his  wife?" 

"  Yes ;  that  is  what  happened." 

"  And  that,  whatever  may  have  been  his 
previous  intentions,  he  thereupon  changed 
his  mind  and  wrote  the  letter,  so  that  you 
should  benefit  by  the  trust." 

"Yes.  I  promised  him  to  leave  the 
money  to  Evangeline  at  my  death,  that  is, 
if  Lady  Stableford  did  not  provide  for 
her." 

"  Lady  Rellingham,  isn't  the  real  fact 
that  Sir  John  had  known  you  were  alive 
for  some  five  or  six  years — before  he  ever 
made  the  will  which  you  say  was  to  benefit 
you?" 

11  He  may,  perhaps,  have  done.  He 
may  have  seen  me,  and  recognised  me, 
without  my  knowledge." 

"Lady  Rellingham,"  said  Tempest  in 
his  quiet  voice  as  he  leaned  forward,  "  isn't 
[295] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

it  the  fact  that  Sir  John  had  found  out  you 
were  alive  and  living  under  another  man's 
name,  and  he  sent  for  you  and  sent  for 
Evangeline,  and  he  told  you,  in  her  pres- 
ence, that  he  knew  and  had  known,  but  that 
he  was  going  to  respect  your  secret,  if  it 
could  be  protected,  so  long  as  you  lived; 
and  that  if  he  died  before  Evangeline  came 
of  age,  and  that  if  then  Lady  Stableford 
had  not  provided  for  her,  Evangeline  was 
to  be  able  to  claim  the  money  he  put  in 
trust;  but  that,  as  that  would  probably  re- 
sult in  your  secret  being  disclosed,  he  gave 
you  the  opportunity  of  providing  for 
Evangeline  during  your  lifetime,  so  that 
your  secret  need  not  be  revealed  whilst  you 
were  alive?     Isn't  that  the  real  fact?" 

"No,  it  is  not." 

"  Isn't  it  the  fact  that  that  letter  was 
written  for  Evangeline  and  given  to  her  in 
your  presence?" 

"  No,  certainly  not." 
[  296  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Lady  Rellingham,  I  know  your  secret. 
Isn't  what  I  put  to  you  the  fact?" 

"  Certainly  not." 

"Did  Evangeline  know?" 

"No.  I  stopped  him  telling  her.  She 
only  knew  I  was  her  mother." 

"  I've  tried  to  keep  your  secret.  I'm 
afraid  it  will  have  to  come  out  now;"  and 
then,  turning  to  Baxter,  he  said,  "Let  me 
have  that  parcel,"  and  a  sealed  packet  was 
handed  to  him. 

"Lady  Rellingham,"  said  Tempest, 
"  did  Sir  John  tell  you  that  the  instructions 
to  his  partners  as  to  the  execution  of  the 
trust  were  in  a  sealed  packet,  and  that  they 
would  not  be  aware  of  the  contents  until 
the  time  came  for  them  to  act?  " 

"  He  did." 

"You  were  aware  that  that  parcel  was 
destroyed  unopened?" 

"  I  saw  it  in  the  papers  that  you  said  so 
in  court." 

[297] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Did  Sir  John  tell  you  he  had  created  a 
duplicate,  in  case  that  parcel  was  de- 
stroyed?" 

"No,  he  did  not." 

"  It's  news  to  you,  then,  that  there  was 
such  a  duplicate?" 

"  Quite  news.     I  don't  believe  it." 

"You  won't  believe  me,  then,  if  I  tell 
you  this  is  the  duplicate?  " 

"No,  I  shall  not.  You're  only  trying  to 
frighten  me." 

"Are  you  willing  to  let  this  case  depend 
upon  the  result  of  opening  this  dupli- 
cate?" 

"  Certainly  not.  How  do  I  know  it's 
genuine?" 

"  I  shall  require  you  to  prove  that,  Mr. 
Tempest,"  said  the  judge. 

"As  your  lordship  pleases,"  replied  the 
barrister. 

"  My  lord,"  said  Mr.  Barnett,  "  I  shall 
strongly  object  to  the  production  of  that 
[  298  ] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

document.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  their 
affidavit  of  documents." 

"  I  haven't  the  remotest  idea  what  is  in 
the  parcel,"  said  Tempest.  "  I  imagine  the 
documents  it  contains  will  be  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Sir  John,  and  will  practically 
prove  themselves.  But  I  can  assure  my 
learned  friend  that  I  was  only  intending  to 
use  the  contents  in  cross-examination.  He 
seems  much  more  afraid  of  them  than  I 
am." 

As  Tempest  took  a  pen-knife  from  his 
pocket  and  cut  the  sealed  string,  there  was 
a  dramatic  pause,  and  the  court  hushed  into 
breathless  silence.  One  could  hear  the 
wax  breaking  as  the  string  was  cut;  and 
Lady  Rellingham,  gripping  the  rail  of  the 
witness-box,  gasped  towards  her  solicitor, 
"I  withdraw!     I  withdraw!" 

"  Then,  my  lord,  I  ask  you  to  order  the 
arrest  of  the  witness." 

"On  what  ground,  Mr.  Tempest?" 

[299] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Perjury,  my  lord,  at  least." 

"But  you  haven't  proved  that  her  evi- 
dence is  incorrect?" 

"  I  take  it,  my  lord,  that  her  withdrawal 
is  tantamount  to  such  an  admission." 

Mr.  Clutch  hurriedly  passed  to  the  wit- 
ness-box and  urged  his  client  not  to  with- 
draw. 

Tempest's  voice  was  clear  above  the 
racket  and  bustle  in  the  court.  "  I  object 
to  anyone  tampering  with  the  witness." 

"  No — no.  She  has  a  right  to  take  coun- 
sel with  her  advisers  on  such  a  matter  as  a 
withdrawal  of  her  claim.  You  mustn't 
forget,  Mr.  Tempest,  she  has  practically 
admitted  there  is  some  secret  of  hers  mixed 
up  in  this  matter.  You  yourself  have  sug- 
gested it  is  a  secret  that.  Sir  John  created 
this  trust  to  obviate  the  disclosure  of,  and 
you  have  practically  threatened  the  witness 
with  a  disclosure  of  her  secret,  if  she  con- 
tinues her  claim.  She  may  well  prefer  to 
[300] 


'I  object  to  anyone  tampering  with  the  witness'" 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

forfeit  a  just  claim  rather  than  have  it  dis- 
closed; and,  Mr.  Tempest,  I  must  remind 
you  I  shall  not  permit  any  disclosure  of  a 
matter  which  is  entirely  irrelevant  to  the 
issue  for  the  mere  purpose  of  harassing  the 
witness." 

"As  your  lordship  pleases.  I  could 
have  hoped,  my  lord,  that  you  would  not 
have  thought  such  a  warning  necessary  to 
me." 

As  Tempest  finished  speaking  there  was 
a  momentary  hush,  and  Clutch  was  heard 
to  say,  "  I  tell  you  he's  simply  bluffing. 
He  often  does.  Very  likely  it's  only  waste- 
paper." 

A  few  whispered  words  passed  between 
the  solicitor  and  the  K.  C,  and  the  latter 
rose,  and  said,  "  My  client  does  not  with- 
draw, my  lord." 

Tempest  calmly  broke  the  remaining 
seals,  and  in  the  dead  silence  every  eye 
watched  him  as  he  took  the  papers  one  by 
[  301  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

one  from  the  packet  and  unfolded  them. 
The  first  two  were  obviously  Somerset 
House  certificates.  The  next  was  a  buff- 
coloured  piece  of  tissue-paper — obviously 
the  press  copy  of  a  letter.  With  a  cursory 
glance  that  also  was  laid  aside.  The  last 
remaining  paper  was  a  letter  which  Tem- 
pest read  through  as  the  court  waited.  Re- 
folding it  he  slipped  the  papers  back  into 
the  parcel,  and  resumed  his  cross-examina- 
tion. 

"Lady  Rellingham,  I  will  ask  you 
again,  were  not  the  letter  and  the  other  pa- 
per you  produce  given  to  Evangeline  Sta- 
bleford?" 

"  They  were  not." 

11  How  did  they  come  into  your  posses- 
sion?" 

"  Sir  John  gave  them  to  me  himself  with 
his  own  hands." 

"  Didn't  you  take  them  from  the   dead 
body  of  Evangeline  Stableford?" 
[302] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"  Don't  answer.  I  object  to  such  a  ques- 
tion, my  lord/'  said  Mr.  Barnett. 

"  I  think  you  must  take  your  answer,  Mr. 
Tempest,"  replied  the  judge. 

"As  your  lordship  pleases.  What  was 
your  occupation,  Lady  Rellingham,  at  the 
time  of  your  marriage?" 

"  I  had  a  situation  at  a  milliner's." 

"  Lady  Rellingham,  when  did  you  go  on 
the  stage?  Weren't  you  on  the  stage  when 
you  married?" 

And  in  a  whisper  the  admission  came. 

"Now,  wasn't  your  stage  name  Eulalie 
Alvarez?" 

"Yes." 

"And  your  sister  Dorothy  Manuel  was 
Dolores  Alvarez?" 

"Yes." 

"  Now,   when   your   husband    heard   of 
your  engagement  to  Lord  Madeley,  didn't 
he  object  strongly  and  threaten  to  make 
your  marriage  to  him  public?" 
[  303  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Yes." 

"  And  didn't  you  tell  him  that  you  were 
about  to  have  a  child,  and  that  it  wouldn't 
be  possible  for  you  to  marry  Lord  Made- 
ley,  and  that,  taking  advantage  of  Lord 
Madeley's  inexperience  of  women,  you  and 
your  sister  had  arranged  that,  though  Eu- 
lalie  Alvarez  was  engaged  to  him,  it  was 
Dolores  Alvarez  who  was  going  to  go 
through  the  ceremony  of  marriage  with 
Lord  Madeley  in  the  name  of  Eulalie  Al- 
varez?" 

"  Yes." 

M  So  that,  when  Dolores  Alvarez  was 
found  dead,  Sir  John  Rellingham  thought 
it  was  his  wife  who  was  dead,  and  troubled 
no  more,  and  stopped  the  allowance.  Isn't 
that  so?" 

And  without  waiting  for  a  reply  Tempest 
went  on : 

"Now,  then,  are  you  Sarah  Jane  Man- 
uel— Eulalie  Alvarez — Lady  Rellingham? 

[304] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

or  are  you  Dorothy  Manuel — Dolores  Al- 
varez— Lady  Madeley?" 

"  I'm  Lady  Rellingham — Eulalie." 

"Then  it  was  Lady  Madeley — Dolores 
— who  died,  and  you  have  been  living  all 
these  years  masquerading  as  Lady  Made- 
ley?     Isn't  that  so?" 

There  was  no  answer. 

"That  was  the  secret  Sir  John  tried  to 
protect  for  you?" 

Again  there  was  no  answer. 

"  Now,  once  again  I  ask  you :  Was  not 
the  letter  you  have  produced  given  to 
Evangeline  Stableford,  and  wasn't  the 
trust  created  for  her  benefit?" 

Tempest  hesitated,  and  then  sat  down; 
but  the  witness  had  fainted.  Barnett,  K. 
C,  rose,  and  remarked  that  he  felt  he  had 
no  alternative  consistent  with  the  dignity  of 
his  profession  but  to  retire  from  the  case, 
and  his  junior  did  the  same.  The  judge 
adjourned,  and  the  court  slowly  emptied. 

[305] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

With  a  grave  face  Tempest  returned  to  his 
chambers. 

Baxter  and  Marston  joined  him  in  the 
corridor,  and  the  three  men  walked  in  si- 
lence across  New  Square. 

"  Come  along  in.  I  know  a  great  deal 
more  than  you  do,  and  I'm  at  my  wits'  end 
what  to  do,"  said  the  barrister.  Handing 
his  wig  and  gown  to  his  clerk  he  lighted  a 
cigarette,  and  backwards  and  forwards  he 
paced  along  the  narrow  pathway  across  his 
carpet. 

"  I  ought  to  have  done  it,  but  I  simply 
couldn't.  Very  few  people  in  court  could 
know  all  the  facts.  It's  simply  a  coinci- 
dence that  all  of  them  happen  to  have  come 
into  my  hands.  The  chances  can  be  only 
one  in  a  thousand  that  such  a  thing  could 
happen.  The  two  Manuel  girls  were  the 
two  sisters  Alvarez,  and  to-day  Lady  Rel- 
lingham  has  given  the  explanation  of  the 
whole  thing.  Do  you  remember  the  sui- 
[306] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

cide  of  Dolores  Alvarez  twenty  years 
ago?" 

"Yes,  I  remember  something  of  it.  It 
was  a  nine  days'  wonder  at  the  time." 

"That's  Dolores,"  said  Tempest,  as  he 
pointed  to  the  painted  miniature  over  the 
mantelpiece.  "  I  was  in  that  case,  and  it 
has  always  puzzled  me.  You  remember 
she  was  found  dead  in  her  flat — stark  nude 
on  the  bed,  and  by  the  side  an  opened  bot- 
tle of  champagne,  with  prussic  acid  in  the 
glass?  The  evidence  was  that  her  sister, 
Lady  Madeley,  called;  that  she  sent  her 
maid  out;  that  the  maid  came  back,  found 
Lady  Madeley  gone,  and  her  mistress  at 
once  sent  her  out  again,  and  the  maid  came 
back  to  find  the  dead  body  of  Dolores.  The 
coroner's  verdict  was  suicide.  Now,  I've 
puzzled  over  that  for  twenty  years.  Then 
comes  the  death  of  Evangeline  Stableford 
I — the  body  found  nude  at  the  Charing 
Cross  Hotel,  and  again  the  opened  bottle 

[307] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

of  champagne  and  prussic  acid;  and  then 
there  was  the  utterly  marvellous  likeness 
between  Dolores  and  Evangline.  But 
they  could  not  be  mother  and  daughter,  for 
Dolores  had  never  had  a  child,  and  I  had 
always  assumed  Evangeline  could  not  be 
the  daughter  of  Lady  Madeley,  because 
she  was  born  on  the  day  Lord  and  Lady 
Madeley  were  married.  It  never  dawned 
on  me  that  the  two  sisters  changed  places." 

"  But,  even  if  they  did,  you  can't  make 
it  fit.     Look  here " 

"My  dear  Baxter,  it  does  fit.  They 
changed  places,  and  then  changed  back 
again.  I'd  thought  of  the  possibility  of 
one  change;  it  never  dawned  on  me, that 
there  were  two  changes.  This  is  what 
happened:  Eulalie  married  Sir  John, 
and  keeps  her  marriage  secret,  and  Sir 
John  makes  her  an  allowance.  His  father 
was  alive  then,  and  probably  didn't  ap- 
prove of  actresses.  Then  she  gets  engaged 
[308] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

to  Lord  Madeley,  for  I  daresay  Relling- 
ham  wasn't  much  catch  then.  Now,  she 
can't  marry  Lord  Madeley — that  would  be 
bigamy;  and  she's  just  going  to  have  a 
child,  so  she  persuades  her  sister  Dolores 
to  go  through  the  ceremony  in  her  place 
and  in  her  name;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
whatever  that  the  arrangement  was  that 
Eulalie  was  to  take  the  place  of  Lady 
Madeley  when  the  honey-moon  was  over. 
I  knew  Lord  Madeley,  and  it  would  have 
been  quite  possible  with  him.  He  never 
noticed  the  difference  between  one  woman 
and  another. 

"  Now,  Sir  John  Rellingham  hears  of 
the  engagement  and  protests.  Eulalie 
tells  him  of  the  expected  child,  and  ex- 
plains that  it  is  her  sister  who  is  really  to 
marry  Lord  Madeley,  and  that  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  she  would  marry  him  in  the 
name  of  Eulalie  Alvarez.  That  being 
merely  an  assumed  name,  one  sister  has  no 

[309] 


THE    DUPLICATE    DEATH 

[greater  right  to  it  than  the  other.  So  Sir 
John  was  content,  for,  of  course,  he  wouldn't 
be  told  the  sisters  intended  to  change  places 
after  the  marriage.  Well,  the  marriage 
'does  take  place,  and  Eulalie's  child  Evan- 
geline is  born  and  adopted  by  Lady  Stable- 
ford.  Then  Lord  and  Lady  Madeley 
come  back  from  the  honey-moon,  and  Eu- 
lalie,  of  course,  wants  her  sister  to  stand 
down  and  carry  out  the  arrangement  they 
had  come  to.  Dolores,  who  has  found  her 
feet,  very  naturally  objects.  Then  she 
goes  to  tea  with  her  sister.  The  maid  sees 
the  two  sisters  together,  and  is  sent  out  on 
an  errand.  Eulalie  poisons  Dolores  in  the 
bedroom.  The  maid  comes  back,  is  told 
Lady  Madeley  has  gone,  and  is  at  once  sent 
out  again.  Then  Eulalie  strips  the  body 
of  Dolores,  and  puts  those  clothes  on.  She 
leaves  her  own  clothes  in  the  bedroom,  be- 
cause she  cannot  dress  the  dead  body  in 
them.  From  that  moment  she  becomes 
[310] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

Lady  Madeley,  and  she  leaves  the  flat  be- 
fore the  maid  returns.  She  bears  Lord 
Madeley  a  child,  the  present  Consuelo, 
Baroness  Madeley.  Lord  Madeley  dies. 
Lady  Madeley  has  a  small  jointure,  but  she 
has  a  handsome  allowance  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  Consuelo,  and  has  the  use  of 
Madeley  Manor.  Consuelo  will  be  of  age 
in  a  year's  time,  and  Eulalie's  income 
would  be  reduced  to  her  jointure.  Consu- 
elo, I  hear,  is  engaged  already,  so  there  was 
no  chance  of  staving  off  the  drop  to  the 
jointure.  Sir  John,  believing  his  wife  was 
dead,  later  on  marries  again.  Now  Sir 
John,  as  time  goes  by,  discovers  that  his 
first  wife,  whom  he  had  thought  was  dead, 
is  really  alive,  and  masquerading  as  Lady 
Madeley.  He  ought  to  have  shown  her 
up  at  once,  but  he  hesitates  to  do  so,  be- 
cause not  only  does  it  lay  his  wife  open  to 
a  charge  of  fraud  and  probable  imprison- 
ment, but  it  also  bastardises  Consuelo  and 

[311] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

creates  a  huge  scandal,  and,  moreover,  it  is 
a  slur  on  the  memory  of  his  second  wife,  to 
whom  he  was  very  devoted.  Added  to  all, 
it  means  that  he  himself  has  committed 
bigamy.  So  he  lets  things  slide.  Then 
Lady  Stableford  quarrels  with  Evangeline, 
and  alters  her  will,  and  Sir  John  realises 
that  somehow  or  other  he  must  provide  for 
his  daughter.  He  therefore  creates  the  se- 
cret trust,  knowing  that  if  he  puts  every- 
thing in  your  hands  in  that  way  he  can  trust 
his  wife's  secret  not  to  be  revealed,  if  this 
can  possibly  be  avoided;  but  he  is  so  loyal 
that  even  to  you  he  won't  reveal  it,  unless 
this  becomes  absolutely  unavoidable.  If 
he  hadn't  been  murdered,  none  of  this 
would  ever  have  come  out.  Then,  know- 
ing he  was  going  to  be  operated  upon 
whilst  Evangeline  was  still  a  minor,  he 
sends  to  Lady  Madeley  to  come  to  his  of- 
fice, and  he  sends  for  Evangeline.  He 
jgives  that  paper  and  letter  to  Evangeline, 

[312] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

but  tells  her  she  is  not  to  use  it  if  Lady  Sta- 
bleford  provides  for  her.  But  if  he  him- 
self dies  before  she  comes  of  age,  and  if 
Lady  Stableford  does  not  provide  for  her, 
then  she  is  to  use  it,  unless,  to  obviate  the 
risk  of  her  secret  being  disclosed,  Lady 
Madeley,  her  mother,  prefers  to  make  the 
necessary  provision.  He  probably  tells 
them  in  each  other's  presence,  so  as  to  give 
each  the  hold  on  the  other.  But  Lady 
Madeley,  knowing  she  will  be  reduced  to 
her  jointure  in  a  year  or  two,  or  else  trying 
to  avert  the  disclosure,  or  in  temper,  kills 
Sir  John.  I  fancy  it  must  have  been  a 
right  down  quarrel,  and  she  probably 
killed  him  in  temper,  though  the  use  of  the 
revolver  looks  as  if  she  had  planned  it  out 
beforehand.  It  may  have  been  that  she 
was  fond  of  Consuelo,  and  was  willing  to 
sacrifice  anything  to  prevent  her  succession 
being  interfered  with  or  jeopardised.  Sir 
John  may  have  threatened  her  with  disclo- 
[  313  ] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

sure,  or  she  may  have  shot  him  to  stop  his 
speaking.  Anyhow,  she  kills  him,  and 
then  it  dawns  on  her  that  she  is  at  the 
mercy  of  Evangeline,  who  knows  she  has 
killed  him.  So  she  determines  to  murder 
Evangeline.  She  remembers  that  Dolo- 
res' death  was  put  down  to  suicide,  and 
the  nude  body  was  used  as  an  argument  to 
suggest  insanity.  So  she  lays  her  plans, 
takes  a  room  at  Charing  Cross  Hotel,  and 
entices  Evangeline  there,  and  poisons  her. 
She  takes  away  her  clothes,  to  prevent  or 
delay  a  discovery  of  the  identity  of  the 
body,  and  to  suggest  insanity,  forgetting  all 
the  time  that  at  an  hotel  the  absence  of  any 
clothes  in  the  room  would  establish  the 
complicity  of  another  person.  She  finds 
the  letter  from  Sir  John  in  the  pocket  of 
Evangeline,  and  appropriates  it.  As  soon 
as  I  had  stated  in  court  that  the  directions 
to  your  partners  had  been  destroyed,  she 
sees  her  chance,  and,  knowing  her  income 
will  very  shortly  be  reduced,  and  relying 

[314] 


THE    DUFLICATE    DEATH 

on  this  letter,  she  brings  the  action  against 
you  three.  As  to  the  other  paper,  very 
likely  Clutch  &  Holdem  wrote  that  out, 
and  were  responsible  for  that  part  of  the 
story.  Now,  that's  the  whole  explanation 
of  everything." 

"  Shall  you  tell  the  police,  Tempest?  " 

"No,  old  man.  I  don't  hunt  murderers 
for  a  living.  The  police  read  the  papers. 
If  they  like  to  put  two  and  two  together, 
from  what  came  out  in  court  to-day,  let 
them.     It's  not  my  business  or  yours." 

"Would  she  be  convicted?" 

"  I  doubt  it.  I'm  certain  of  what  I've 
told  you;  but  there's  too  much  deduction 
for  a  jury.  A  jury  will  only  convict  for 
murder  on  cold-drawn  facts,  and  plenty  of 
them.  But  that  woman  will  save  them  the 
trouble.  Unless  they've  arrested  her  al- 
ready, I  expect  she'll  commit  suicide  be- 
fore the  morning.  She's  shown  up  to  the 
world — utterly  discredited.  She  isn't  Lady 
Madeley,  and  consequently  she  hasn't  got 
[315] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

any  income  now.  And  she  knows  what  the 
chances  are,  that  she'll  be  arrested  for  mur- 
der.    You'll  see  she  won't  risk  it." 

"Then  Consuelo  isn't  Lady  Madeley 
either?" 

"As  it  happens,  she  is,  because  I  happen 
to  know  that  her  trustees  very  wisely  got 
letters  patent  of  confirmation  when  she  suc- 
ceeded. It  only  means  that  Billy  Fitz 
Aylwyn  succeeds  to  the  old  barony,  whilst 
the  girl  gets  a  new  peerage,  dating  from 
her  patent." 

The  next  morning  the  daily  papers  an- 
nounced that  during  the  passage  of  the 
Dover-Calais  boat  a  lady  passenger  had 
been  missed.  The  unclaimed  luggage  left 
behind  proved  her  to  have  been  Eulalie, 
Lady  Madeley. 

Some  six  weeks  later,  Tempest  received 
a  letter: 

[316] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

"Dear  Mr.  Tempest,— In  thinking 
things  over  quietly,  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  you  probably  knew  a  great 
deal  more  than  you  made  public  at  the 
trial.  If  I  am  right,  I  am  grateful  to  you, 
though  you  left  me  no  alternative  but  to 
leave  England  at  once.  If  you  will  do  one 
generous  action,  you  will  do  another. 
Evangeline  I  never  knew  or  cared  about; 
Consuelo  is  and  was  the  delight  of  my  life. 
Will  you,  whatever  happens,  whatever 
comes  out,  please  do  everything  that  is  pos- 
sible for  her?  She  has  no  one  to  guard  her 
now,  for,  as  an  illegitimate  child,  she  has 
not  inherited  the  property,  and  so  the  trus- 
tees who  have  been  acting  are  not  really 
her  trustees  at  all.  Will  you  please  do  what 
you  can  to  straighten  out  the  tangle  I  have 
made?  You  will  never  hear  of  me  again. 
I  am  going  to  Australia,  to  earn  my  living, 
and  start  again,  if  I  can.  If  I  cannot,  then 
in  reality  I  shall  end  it,  as  the  world  al- 

[317] 


THE     DUPLICATE     DEATH 

ready  thinks  I  have  done.     Please  don't 
try  to  find  me. 

"  Now,  for  the  last  time  I  sign  myself  by 
the  name  to  which  I  have  no  right — Yours, 
EULALIE  MADELEY." 

•  •  •  •  • 

Sometimes  things  straighten  themselves 
out  without  much  outside  interference. 
IBilly  Fitz  Aylwyn  preferred  to  waive  his 
own  claims  in  view  of  the  realisation  of  his 
great  desire.  Let  the  Times  tell  the  con- 
clusion of  the  story. 

"  Fitz  Aylwyn— Madeley .— On  the 
17th  inst,  at  St.  Peter's,  Eaton  Square, 
Wilbraham  Plantagenet  de  Bohun,  only 
son  of  the  late  Sir  Brabazon  Fitz  Aylwyn, 
G.C.B.,  to  Consuelo,  Baroness  Madeley." 


1 318  ] 


UCSOUIHtHNMt 


A     000  127  376     2 


